


Home

by btvscharmedgirl



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Charmed (TV 1998)
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2020-06-09 22:11:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 51,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19485034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/btvscharmedgirl/pseuds/btvscharmedgirl
Summary: Faith, still drowning from what she did, is brought to the Halliwell home beaten and unconscious, sent there by the Powers That Be. She quickly realizes there is more to the woman gently taking care of her, and it is about to change her entire world forever.





	1. Who is she?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there. Before you start reading there are a few things you should know. First off, I am playing around with everything. This is a fanfiction, so I'm having a little fun. Starting with moving the timelines up to a more modern-day setting. Season 3 of Charmed, which is when this fic is based in and season 5 of Buffy and season 2 of Angel all start in 2013. Prue is a little older than she was in the show, but Piper and Phoebe's ages are the same. We probably won't see any Buffy characters other then Faith in this one. We will see Angel though. I have also taken random characters from other fandoms and placed them in the story. Some of them you might get right away, while others not so quickly and some will stick around for a bit.
> 
> The story starts at the beginning of season 3 of Charmed. I didn't change any events in any of the shows up to that point, but beyond two or three scenes ripped from Charmed, the story is au. I also will not be adding in Cole. Phoebe needs to work on her studies.
> 
> I also apologize for any mistakes I've made. I swear I've read the chapter like 10 times, but there's still a chance I've let something lip by that I or my grammar check missed. I hope you like the story. Drop a review if you feel like it. I really like hearing from you. I'm about halfway finished with the fic and will be updating once a week. I hope you like it, and happy reading! (Oh, and a general warning for all the homophobes tuning in to this, I am a lesbian, and while I currently have no plans on adding in partners for Prue or Faith, if I do they will likely be woman. Although it should be said, this story is about Prue and Faith's platonic relationship. Just thought I'd warn you.)

Chapter 1: Who Is She?

December 14, 1995

Penny Halliwell stood in the attic of her spacious home. In the center of the large, unfinished room stood the shimmering figure of her deceased daughter Patty. In her arms was her newborn great granddaughter, wrapped in a yellow knitted blanket, a replica of the ones her mother and aunts had been wrapped in as infants.

Patty look down at her grand baby longingly. She wished she could hold the child, even if it was just for a moment. "Take her to Saint Anne's. The nun we gave Paige to found her a wonderful home, with wonderful parents. The baby deserves that too."

Penny looked down at the sleeping child. She was only a few hours old, but Penny could already tell that her great-grand baby was a fighter. Despite being a month early, she was fully developed, and had a set of lungs to prove it. She only weighed five pounds, but she was long. Twenty-one inches long to be exact. She placed a tender kiss on the child's head, and then looked towards her daughter.

"How is Prudence?" Patty asked.

"She's tired, but that's to be expected. Childbirth is taxing on grown woman, let alone a seventeen-year-old. I still think I should wipe the pregnancy from her mind."

"If you do that, she won't be ready when her daughter comes looking for her," Patty said.

The baby let out a soft cry and began wriggling her in great-grandmother's arms. "It's time," she said, and then picked up the bottle sitting on the table. "I'll take her to the church after she finishes this bottle. Her powers will be bound, and she will be safe from him. He won't be able to track her."

"And you're sure Piper and Phoebe have no clue about the baby?" Patty asked. The baby's safety depended on nobody finding out about her.

"Positive. I sent Prue away before she started showing, and she assured me that she hadn't told anybody. Which I verified of course."

"Of course. You wouldn't be you if you didn't double check everything," Patty said with a soft smile adorning her lips. "Give her a kiss for me and tell the girls I love them."

"I will, as always my dear," Penny said. "Blessed Be."

"Blessed Be, Mother."

Patty was gone in seconds, leaving Penny alone with the child. Sending her away was the best thing for everyone. The baby would be safe far away from San Francisco, and Prue could spend the rest of her teens, being just that, a teenager.

Once the baby had finished the bottle laced with the binding potion, Patty took her to the local church. The nun she spoke with was the same woman who Patty and Sam had given their daughter to just eight years before. Penny had only two requests. The first being that the family they found for her great-granddaughter be far from San Francisco. "Her life may depend on it," she told the nun. The second being that her name began with a 'P'.

With a final kiss, Penny turned and walked out of the church to return home to where her eldest granddaughter was sleeping fitfully. That night after Phoebe and Piper had gone to sleep, Penny snuck back up to the attic and lit a candle to guide the newest addition of her family to her new home. She said a pray for the girl to have a good life, and another for her granddaughter Prue.

Their paths would cross one day, and the evil that lurked in the shadows would return to claim what he believed was his. Penny only hoped that her girls would be strong enough to defeat him.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

September 2, 2013

The house was quiet. Too quiet for Prue's liking. It had been a day since her sister Piper had orbed off into the heavens with her boyfriend Leo, leaving her and their younger sister Phoebe behind to worry about what had happened to her. Phoebe was at the club setting up for the band that was playing later on.

Prue was avidly flipping through the Book of Shadows looking for anything that could help them be prepared for when the Triad decided to send the next demon after them. Knowing that there was a purpose behind their fight had renewed her determination to be the best witch she could be.

She set the book aside when she heard a car door slam outside. Thinking it was Phoebe returning with her car, she stood up to greet her at the door. She wasn't expecting the knock that came as she neared the double doors, nor was she expecting what she saw when she opened the door.

Standing on her porch was a short, ragged looking white man who was wearing a green button up shirt, leather jacket, and a short-brimmed fedora. That, however, was not what was really unexpected. What was really unsettling about the strange man was the young woman he was effortlessly carrying over his shoulder.

"Do you mind?" the man asked, then before Prue had a chance to respond, he pushed passed her and into the house. He moved to the living room as though he had been there before, and gently placed the woman on the couch.

Prue was outraged at the audacity of the stranger, but that audacity was nothing compared to what she felt when she got a good look at the woman. Her beautiful face was covered in bruises and cuts, both old and fresh. She stepped close to her and pushed the man away from her. None too lightly either.

The man took a step back, raising his hands in defense, with each step. "Woah, I didn't do that to her. I just saved her from the people who did."

Prue kneeled next to the couch and inspected the girl's cuts. Somebody had abused her to the point where she was barely recognizable. "Who is she?"

"You already know who she is," the man said cryptically.

Prue looked over her shoulder and gave the man a withering glare. "Who are you, and why did you bring her here?"

"The names Whistler, and I'm only doing what I was told to do," Whistler said.

"Told? By who? Who is she?" Prue fired off rapidly.

"The PTB wanted her returned home. Her destiny is far greater than she knows, and she wasn't fulfilling it where she was."

"PTB?" Prue asked softly, and then quickly stood up. She advanced on the man with a hard glare. "Quit being cryptic. Who is she? Who are the PTB, and why did you bring her here?"

"Sorry. I'm a higher power slash demon hybrid. Cryptic is what I do," Whistler shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. "She'll explain everything once she wakes. What she knows anyway. The rest you'll have to figure out yourself. I did what I was supposed to do. Delivered her home again. The rest is up to you."

"Can you at least give me her name?" Prue demanded.

"She goes by Faith Lehane," Whistler said as he walked towards the front door. "I'll be around. Oh and she'll probably sleep for a while but she's not in any immediate danger. They made sure of it."

"They who?" Prue asked, but Whistler was already out the door. She moved to the window and watched the man leave in irritation. She looked back at the young woman asleep on her couch. She looked young, late teens perhaps. She was taller than her and skinny. Too skinny. The hospital style scrubs she wore hung loosely off her body and were stained with dirt, blood and tore in places. Her skin was pale, her eyes were dark and sunken in. There was a general look of despair to her.

There was also something familiar about her, but she couldn't quite figure it out. She didn't have time to question it though. She had to call Phoebe and decide what they were going to do. She kept the call brief, telling her they had a non-demonic related situation and she needed her home. Once she had hung up, she went to retrieve their first aid kit and a basin of water to clean and bandage Faith's wounds.

In the twenty minutes that it took Phoebe to return home, Faith had not moved or made any sounds as she continued to clean the caked blood on her delicate skin. Prue kept checking her pulse to make sure that she was still alive, not entirely trusting the man's words. She let out a breath of release each time she felt the steady pulse.

"So, what's going on?" Phoebe asked as she hung up her sweater. Fall seemed to want to come early this year. She froze when she saw the girl lying on her couch. "Who is that, and what happened to her?"

"Her name is Faith, and that's all I know. The demon who brought her here was cryptic and wouldn't answer anything."

"A demon brought her here?" Phoebe asked. The confusion had only set in, and she had a feeling that it was only going to get worse. "Leo," she yelled, and waited expectantly. She huffed when no orbs appeared.

"Yeah. I tried that already. Several times in fact," Prue said annoyed.

"What's the point of having a whitelighter if he whisks our sister off without a word for days?"

"Maybe they're testing us," Prue suggested.

"Testing what? To see how well we fair without Piper. I thought we already passed that test." Phoebe turned to look at the girl. She stepped closer, and then kneeled next to the couch. "Why would a demon bring her here?"

"He said that he was just doing what the PTB wanted him to do," Prue answered.

"He didn't give you any idea who she is or why she is here?"

Prue's eyebrows furrowed. "When I first asked who she was, he told me I already know who's she is, and then as he was leaving, he said that they want him to deliver her home again."

"Cryptic much," Phoebe commented. She brushed a lock of Faith's greasy, unkept hair behind her ear. "Goddess. Who did this to her?"

"Only she can tell us that," Prue said. She closed the book and sat it on the end table. "I'm going to call Darryl and see if he can run a check on her. Maybe he'll come up with some answers."

"Should we take her to the hospital?" Phoebe asked.

"No," Prue said solemnly. "He said she wasn't in any immediate danger. Besides, we may not know what it is, but there is a reason she was brought to us. She may not be safe in the hospital."

"I'll get her settled then. There is no reason why she can't be comfortable," Phoebe said.

As Phoebe retrieve blankets and pillows for the young woman, Prue went into the kitchen to call Darryl. Their call was brief, and Darryl assured Prue that he would get back to her as soon as he knew anything. She hung up with him and called Piper's cell phone. She knew it was a long shot, but she was hoping that the call would reach wherever Piper and Leo orbed off to.

Prue slammed the phone onto the counter in frustration when the call went straight to voice mail. She flopped into a chair at the table and sighed heavily. There was a strange girl asleep on her couch, her sister was missing along with their whitelighter, and she had to decrypt what little a demon had told her.

She sat at the table for a few minutes going over everything Whistler had told her. It made little sense to her. Not coming up with anything on her own, she decided to return to the book to keep searching for anything about the PTB.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

The next morning Prue was jolted awake by loud knocking. Banging really. Groggily she rose from the chair she was in, tossing aside the blanket that appeared on her during the night. She glanced over at Phoebe who was curled up on the love seat. They had taken turns checking on Faith and flipping through every magical book they had in their position. She checked on Faith, before finally making her way to the front door. She opened the door to reveal Darryl standing there. He was carrying a police file, and he looked as though he had yet to sleep.

"Is that girl still here?" he asked quickly as he walked past Prue.

"Yeah, Darryl. She's on the couch," Prue replied sleepily, randomly pointing over her shoulder. She followed the man into the living room, to find him pulling his handcuffs out. "What are you doing?" she yelled, and then moved in between him and Faith.

"Cuffing her. This girl is dangerous," he replied.

"This girl has been asleep since she was dropped off," Prue stated. "People aren't much of a threat when they're in a coma, Darryl. So, why don't you tell me what you found out."

Darryl looked at Faith unsurely for a moment, clearly weighing his options between doing his job, or conceding to Prue. In the end Prue won out. He handed her the files he had deposited on the coffee table.

"She's a convicted murderer," he said.

Prue looked at him in surprise, and then looked down at Faith. She looked too young, too innocent to be a convicted murderer.

"She's dangerous," Darryl said.

"How dangerous can one girl be?" Prue sat down in the armchair and read through the police report. With each page she turned a sinking feeling settled in her gut. She had been convicted for two murders, several attempted murders, a string of robberies, and the assault and battery of a couple of police officers. "Okay. So, she is pretty dangerous."

"Who's dangerous?" asked Phoebe sleepily.

Prue nodded her head towards Faith, and then handed Phoebe the file. Phoebe sat up and thumbed through the thick file. "It says here that she exhibits unusual strength, the kind you would see with drug use. Maybe that strength is because she's a demon, and Whistler brought her here for us to vanquish."

"I'm not a demon."

All three of the room's occupants jumped at the groggy voice and turn to face the speaker. Faith's eyes were still closed, but she was attempting to move.

"I am a murderer though," Faith stated sleepily. She fidgeted slightly before drifting off to sleep again.

"I think she's asleep again," Phoebe stated quietly, then shooed Prue and Darryl into the conservatory. "She was sent here for a reason, and until we figure out that reason, we need to keep her here."

"I can't do that," Darryl said. "I have a legal obligation to bring her in."

"Well she obviously didn't escape prison herself," Phoebe retorted.

"She wasn't in prison," Prue said.

"What? I thought you said she was a convicted murderer?" Phoebe asked.

Prue took the file back from Phoebe and thumbed through it until she found what she was looking for. "It says that she was sentenced to a high security mental health facility until such a time she was deemed fit to reenter society. Which apparently only took a few months." Prue looked at them. "She was released into the custody of two of her uncles after only being in there for three months. That was two months ago."

"That seems a little fast," Phoebe said.

"It is," Darryl replied. "It usually takes years for a patient to be released back into society after committing murder, if ever." He peeked through the window at Faith. Some of those bruises and cut look to be about six weeks or so old."

"That means they are probably the people who did this to her," Phoebe said.

"I know you girls don't want to hear this, but I have to take her in. Her uncles reported her as a runaway over a month ago. The judge issued a warrant for her arrest. Besides," he said solemnly, then hesitated. "She's obviously been abused by somebody. She needs to be seen by a doctor to make sure she is okay, and a police report needs to be filed."

"We know," Prue said. "Please just give us a few days. There is a reason this girl was brought to us. We just have to figure out what it is. Do your detective magic and find out more about her. If nothing pans out, then you can take her?"

Darryl looked through the glass doors at the sleeping girl again. "I'll see what I can find out, but if nothing pans out in two days, I am taking her."

"Fair enough," Phoebe said.

Darryl pulled out his cuffs and tried to hand them to Phoebe. "Take these just in case she wakes up and isn't in the mood to stick around."

"Darryl, we're witches. We can handle one mentally unstable girl." Phoebe said.

"Even still," Darryl said, and then pushed the cuffs into Phoebe's hands. "I'll feel better if you can restrain her. I'm going home to catch a few hours of sleep."

"Thanks Darryl," Prue said.

"What are we going to do?" Phoebe asked once Darryl had left.

Prue looked through the glass door. "We need to try and wake her up. She must have to use the bathroom by now, and she should eat something."

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith was surrounded by darkness. She could hear people talking around her, washing her bloodied face, shaking her, and trying to coax her to wake up. She tried to wake up, to respond to the voices, but the darkness consumed her. She couldn't move or speak. It was causing her a great deal of anxiety.

She was curious about the women who were trying taking care of her. They seemed nice and caring, even if the one called Phoebe was cautious of her. She wanted to wake up and tell them that she was fine. That they could stop worrying about her, but as hard as she tried, the most she had mastered was a few moments of consciousness. Just enough to reassure them that she wasn't a demon, but to still be weary of her.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Several hours later, Prue sat at the island reading Faith's file as she waited for the frozen lasagna to finish baking. Thank god Piper had several pre-made meals in the freezer just in case she didn't have time to cook. Once Piper returned from wherever the hell her and Leo went, she would tell her how much she appreciated everything she did.

Faith had yet to wake, and Prue's worry was mounting steadily. The maternal instincts in her were telling her to take her to the hospital, but her witch instincts were telling her that would be the wrong decision. Before she became a witch, she wouldn't have second guess herself. Now however, she knew there was a greater risk to Faith if she took her to the hospital before they had the full picture. All Prue knew for sure was that it was her job to protect Faith.

Phoebe had called a few minutes before to tell her she would be home in a little while. Once she did, Prue was going to attempt to wake Faith again. Until then she was studying Faith's file for anything that would help explain why she was sent to them. The file unnerved her, and not just because of the violent acts depicted upon the pages. There seemed to gaping holes in the file. Like how the Sunnydale Police department even had Faith on their radar as a suspect when there was no evidence against her. No DNA, no eyewitness, there wasn't even a connection between Faith and the two Sunnydale victims. They had her gold to right on the mugging of the man at the bus station, and the breaking and entering of his home, but the conviction they got on the rest of the charges were only achieved because of her confessing. Faith's full confession was in the file, but even that had holes. There were no reasons why she killed those people, only how. It was a troubling case.

"Figure it out yet?"

The groggy voice startled her. She looked behind her to find Faith leaning up against the wall, watching her with big brown eyes. She was momentarily stunned by her appearance. She looked much younger than the file said she was. "How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes," Faith replied gravely. "Can I have some water?

"Sure." Prue slid of her stool and grabbed a bottle from the fridge. She handed Faith the bottle, and watched as she struggled to open the cap. How did this girl manage to do all those things?

Faith greedily brought the bottle to her lips, and down the contents in one go. She sighed softly as she lowered the bottle. Prue took the bottle from her before she had a chance ask where the trash can was. "Where am I?"

"San Francisco," Prue relied.

Faith looked around the kitchen curiously. "What is the date?"

"September 2."

Faith looked sharply at Prue. "2013?"

"Yeah," Prue told her.

"Good. The last time I was in a coma I woke up in a new year," Faith said lightly.

"The last time?"

"It doesn't matter," Faith mumbled. "You're Prue, right?"

"Yeah. You could hear us?"

Faith nodded.

Prue went around to the other side of the island. "Why don't you sit down?" She said, gesturing to kitchen table. "Dinner's almost done."

"I'd rather you call your cop friend to take me back to Atascadero," Faith stated.

"Darryl gave us a few days to figure out why you were brought to us," Prue said.

"I know, and I'm telling you I want nothing to do with whatever they want from me," Faith grunted. She grabbed her ribs and bent over slightly in pain.

"Come on sit down," Prue insisted. She touched Faith's shoulder to help guide her to the table, but Faith shook her off. "Please. I'll feel better if you were sitting."

"Why? You afraid I'm gonna attack ya?" Faith took an uneasy step forward, and practically fell into the chair waiting for her. "There, you can chill now."

"I wasn't worried about you attacking me," Prue said.

"I would be if I had just gotten done reading my file," Faith proclaimed.

"You can try, but I'm not easy to get the jump on," Prue stated.

"When the drugs wear off, and my strength returns, we'll spar."

Prue laughed. "You have the wrong sister. Phoebe's the one who fights. I just wave my hand and make them go flying."

"Then I'll give Phoebe a go," Faith smirked. "So, when you gonna call your cop friend?" She insisted.

"You're probably the only person in the world who wants to be locked away," Prue commented. After checking the lasagna, she looked hard at Faith. "I'll make you a deal. Why don't you go upstairs and take a shower, change your clothing, and after dinner if Darryl still has not called, I will call him."

"And you just trust me to go upstairs by myself. What If I take off?" Faith snarked.

Prue smirked. She walked over to the table, reached out and plucked a few hairs.

"Ow. What'd ya do that for?"

"Now I have a piece of you to scry for if you do leave," Prue told her. She pulled a sandwich baggy out of the draw, and placed the hairs in.

Faith looked at Prue in confusion. "Scry?"

Prue slide the baggy in the drawer. "It's a way of magical tracking people."

"So, you're a witch?"

"Yeah. Me and my sisters are all witches." Prue smiled lightly and then gestured for her to follow her. "Come on. I'll show you were the bathroom is."

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith stepped into the shower unsteadily, grunting softly with every motion. The stream of hot water flowed over her body causing the healing cuts covering her body to sting. She looked down to inspect the damage that still plagued her body. Bruises covered nearly every inch of her body in various stages of healing, and there were shallow cuts and tears in random spots, leaving her body looking like an ugly rainbow.

It had been about two months since the abuse started. Since they began injecting her with the drugs that muted her slayer abilities. In some ways she wished the drug would wear off, so she could heal, and get back to her regular strength, but in other ways she relished in the weakness. She couldn't hurt anybody while she was like this. This was the Higher Powers' way of punishing her for going evil and abusing the powers bestowed upon her.

She was okay with that.

Every day that she sat in isolation the guilt she felt for killing Finch and the Professor grew. It was like the anger she had felt in Sunnydale slowly leaked out of her heart. The visions she had of stabbing or strangling the people she was around slowly began to stop as well. She would never admit this out loud, but she was scared shitless the visions and thoughts would start again. The quicker she could get back to her room at Ata, the happier she would be.

Still, it was nice to have a hot shower for once. For just a little, she would allow herself to enjoy it.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Prue was pulling the lasagna out of the oven when Phoebe ran into the kitchen in a frantic. Fearing there was a demon on her tail, she tossed the baking pan onto the counter, and flung the oven mitts over head as she got into fighting stance.

"She's gone," Phoebe shouted.

Pure relaxed as she threw her sister an annoyed looked. She turned around and picked up the oven mitts. "She's upstairs taking a shower."

Phoebe looked at Prue as though she lost her mind. "Alone?"

"Yes alone," Prue said.

"What if she tries to leave?" Phoebe asked.

"Then we'll scry for her using the hair I plucked from her head," Prue told her. "Besides. She's eager to get back to the mental institution, so if she does leave, we'll know where she will go."

"Nobody is eager to get locked in a mental hospital," Phoebe said skeptically.

"Well she is. I had to practically force her into the shower, so she would stop pushing me to call Darryl."

Phoebe grabbed plates and silverware for them and sat down at the table. "What do you make of her?"

"I don't know. She didn't say much, except to tell me to call our cop friend, and that she was in a coma before. I feel like there is a lot that doesn't add up. There are gaping holes in her police file. There is no reason for the Sunnydale PD to even look at her for the murder of the Deputy Mayor or the Professor, and yet they were."

"The Sunnydale PD are jokes," Faith gruffly said from behind them. She leaned up against the doorway tugging at the clothing Prue had loaned her. After months of not eating properly, they hung loosely from her body. "The only reason they were onto me was because Wilkens had them in his pocket."

"The Mayor, right?" Prue asked as she grabbed Faith's file off the island. She flipped through the file to looking for the page that the mayor was mentioned. "Wilkens spoke to the police on your behalf after the deputy mayor was murdered. Why would he tell them it was you, only to vouch for you afterwards?"

"Because we were a threat to him," Faith said, and then stepped towards the table. She slumped into the open chair near the mud room door. "I'll tell you what you want to know, as long as you promise to call your cop friend when were done."

Prue sent Phoebe an 'I told you so' look, and then looked back to Faith. "I'll promise as long as you promise to eat."

Faith eyed the lasagna eagerly, her stomach grumbling its agreement. "Deal," she said, and then passed her plate down the table.

As Prue dished out a heaping pile of lasagna onto Faith's plate, Phoebe went to the fridge to get them drinks. She asked Faith what she wanted, who grumbled that she didn't care. She poured everybody a glass of tea. When she sat Faith's glass in front of her, she did so hesitantly.

"I'm sane today," Faith stated, as she grasped the glass eagerly. She took a few gulps, and then set the glass back down. "But don't let your guard down," she said quietly. She hesitantly took a bite, and a burst of flavor hit her like an orgasm. After months of eating tasteless hospital food, follow by two months of just enough scraps to keep her alive, this was a gift. It was then that she realized how hungry she was. She had been starving for so long she had grown used to the pains of hunger.

Phoebe and Prue watched Faith in interest, and a fair amount of concern. After that first hesitant bite, Faith began shoveling the delicious food into her mouth faster the she could chew it. The sisters shared a concerned look. Prue turned to Faith. "Slow down Faith. There is plenty of food here."

Faith looked up at Prue and gave her a sheepish look. "Sorry. It's just really good. I haven't had food this good since I was still invited over to B's house."

"Who's B?" Phoebe asked.

"Buffy," Faith replied. "Her mom is an awesome cook."

"Why'd you kill those people," Phoebe asked bluntly.

"Phoebe," Prue said sharply.

"It's cool," Faith told her and then looked at Phoebe. "I didn't mean to kill Finch. B and I were out patrolling, and I thought he was a vamp. It wasn't until I staked him that I realized he was human."

"What are you? Magically speaking."

"B and I are slayers," Faith answered, and then countered with, "What are you?"

"Witches," Phoebe stated. "I read about slayers in the Book of Shadows. I thought there is only one slayer at a time."

"B drowned a few years ago but was revived. The slayer line was passed to Kendra, and then to me when she died." Faith paused to take a bite.

"I take it the Mayor was a demon," Prue stated.

"Not yet. That happened later. He was a human, who was slowly becoming a demon. That's why he needed me and B out of his way. So, we wouldn't screw up his plans."

"If he had you distracted by the cops then why did he vouch for you," Phoebe asked.

"Because I gave in to the evil and went to him." She began shoveling food into her mouth again.

"Why did you kill the professor?" Prue asked, almost fearful of the answer.

"He knew how to kill Wilkens once he ascended, so Wilken had me off him," Faith stated.

Phoebe scoffed, "You say that so casually."

"Because it was at the time," Faith stated. Before she could stop the words, she blurted. "Wilkens was good to me. He treated me like he actually cared about me. Like it was his choice to have me there, not me being forced on him."

Faith froze, realizing she had told them something too personal. "Look I told you what you wanted to know. Call your cop friend."

"Wait, you still didn't explain why you even went to the Mayor, or why you turned yourself in," Phoebe said.

"No. Call your cop friend," Faith insisted. She had enough of their sad glances, and prying. She didn't know these people, nor did she owe them any explanations. When neither Phoebe nor Prue made any moves towards the phone, Faith stood up and said, "Fine. I'll walk."

Faster than she'd been able to move for weeks, Faith darted towards the kitchen doors. Even with her speed boost, Prue and Phoebe were faster. Her way was blocked, so she turned around and darted for the open mud door. Unfortunately for her, she was running away from a witch. Prue lifted her hand and magical shut the door. Faith slammed into the door, expecting it to open, but it wouldn't budge.

She turned around to face the sisters once more, weighing her options. She could admit defeat and sit down and finish her amazing meal, or she could fight like hell to get out of there. Sitting back down to finish her meal was temping but came with a downside. They would insist on hearing more of her story. She had already told them more than she wanted. Getting out of there was a long shot without the use of her powers, but she felt the overwhelming need to try. She needed to get safely behind bars before her strength returned, and she lost control again.

Throwing caution to the wind, she gathered every ounce of her strength and speed she had left and barreled her way through Prue and Phoebe. Unfortunately, the sisters were ready for her, and caught her as she tried to pass. Fear crept into Faith's chest, making her panic, then in the blink of an eye she was on the floor just inside the dining room. Before she had a chance to comprehend what happened, her body exploded in pain, causing her to scream out in pain.

Prue and Phoebe were looking were trying to figure out what had just happened. One second they were trying to calm the struggling woman, and the next she disappeared and reappeared in the dining room screaming in pain. They moved to Faith's side just as the woman's screams died.

Phoebe knelt down and felt for her pulse. "She just passed out," she assured her sister.

"What the hell just happened?" Prue asked.

Phoebe looked down at the woman, and then back up to Prue. "It looked like she blinked," she sighed. "How is that possible. She's bleeding. Warlocks can't bleed."

"I don't know Phoebe. We should get her off the floor, and then we'll figure it out." Together they moved Faith to the couch and got her situated again.

"Maybe we should take her to the hospital," Phoebe suggested worriedly.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Prue said equally as worried. "She used magic. The last thing we need is a repeat of what happened to Piper."

Phoebe looked like she was going to argue with Prue but stopped at the look her sister was giving her. "Fine. I'll look in the book for any healing spells." Under her breath she said, "And for any reference to why she could blink."

Prue was no longer paying attention to her sister. Her full attention was devoted to Faith. The cut above the woman's right eye had reopened, blood was slowly leaking from the wounds rolling down her bruised face. Prue fetched the first aid kit from the wardrobe in the foyer, and carefully cleaned and sealed the cut. She brushed aside the woman's hair and watched her carefully as she slept.

There was something inside of her that was drawing her to Faith. It was this overwhelming need to make sure she was okay; to protect her. She didn't understand it. All she knew was that there was use in fighting it anymore. She had been trying since Faith had first crossed her path, and so far, it had been an utter failure.

Prue sat down next to Faith on the floor and laid her head next to Faith's hand. A little while later Phoebe returned with the book and an arm full of candles, to find her sister sleeping peacefully. Despite her unease about the situation, she couldn't help but smile. It was a quant picture.

She laid the book on the table and began placing the candles around the couch. She had found a spell to speed up the body's natural healing abilities. It wouldn't work as fast as if Leo had been healing her, but it would help. She just had to wake her sister up, because only Faith could be inside the spell's barriers.

Half an hour later, both sisters were sitting in the armchairs watching Faith sleep beneath a glimmering yellow bubble. Phoebe was casually flipping through the book looking for any reference to magical beings that teleported the way Faith had. She had already read the entry dedicated to slayers, which made it clear the slayers powers were more passive, instead of active.

A little after two in the morning, both the sisters were abruptly woken by banging on the front door. Prue groggily check on Faith's who was still sleeping peacefully under the shimmering bubble. Prue looked at Phoebe questioningly.

"It's the spell. It keeps her asleep as she heals," Phoebe reassured her, and then went to answer the door.

Darryl stood on the other side of the door, looking more ragged then she had ever seen him. He was still wearing the same clothing her was in the last time she saw him, and he looked as though he hadn't slept in day. In his arms were three large files.

"Please tell me she's still here," he begged, sounding exhausted.

"She's asleep on the couch," Phoebe told him. "What is it Darryl? You look like crap."

Darryl passed Phoebe the files. "I found her," he said, and then walked into the living room. He paused when her saw her sleeping beneath the bubble. "What's around her? Is she okay?"

Prue answered him. "She's fine. The bubble is just helping her to heal. Are you here to take her into custody?"

"No," Darryl said. He turned to Phoebe and took the top file from her. "I couldn't find anything for the first name Faith, last name Lehane from before her time in Sunnydale. So, I broadened my search. I searched all girls born with the last name Lehane in 1990. There were several hits, but none matching Faith's description. So, I broadened the search to girls Lehane's born between 85' and 95'. It took me all night to go through the files, but I finally got a hit. Paulina Faith Lehane, born on December 14, 1995 here in San Francisco to an undisclosed family, and then adopted a few days later in Boston."

Darryl's words sent shockwaves through Prue. It couldn't be her, could it? She looked to Faith and then to Darryl. She snatched the file he was reading from. "Are you positive Faith is this girl?"

"I'm positive. There are several pictures of her in the files. Faith's real name is Paulina."

Prue looked at the first page of the file. There, staring back at her from a photocopied black and white photo, was a younger version of Faith. There was no denying those big brown eyes. Next to the photo was her birth date. December 14, 1995, the same day her baby girl had been born. She collapsed into the chair behind her and read through the first page as fast as she could. Faith had been given to a nun at Saint Anne's in San Francisco, and later adopted by the Lehane's.

"He said I already knew her," She said softly.

Phoebe looked up from the file she was reading. "What was that honey?"

"He said they wanted her returned home," Prue said to herself.

Phoebe was more confused than before. "Prue honey, you're not making any sense."

Prue looked up at Phoebe with tears welling in her eyes. "He said I already knew who she was," She repeated. "He said they wanted her returned home." She turned to look at Faith. "They wanted her returned home, and she is. She's home."


	2. Huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed, Buffy, or any characters that appear in this story. They all belong to their prospective owners.
> 
> AN: Hey guys. Before you get to the chapter, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who dropped a review. I appreciate them so much. I also want to take the moment to apologize for the long wait. I've been busy as hell and haven't had the chance to post. As long as I'm not busy and the words keep flowing, you'll get a new chapter each week. I'll upload it every Saturday. If you have Twitter, my tag is the same as my name. I usually drop updates on my stories if I can't update or whatever.
> 
> Also, I want to add a WARNING. This chapter is dark and deals with the abuse Faith had to endure both as a child and during her time with her 'uncles'. Please read with caution.

Chapter 2: Huh?

Phoebe was staring at Prue like she was losing her mind. Her mouth was opened slightly, and a confused looked mingled with concern adorned her features. "Prue?" She said as she sat on the coffee table in front of her sister.

Prue looked into Phoebe's eyes. Tears were rolling down her face. "She's home. I never thought I'd see her again, but here she is. She's home. She's home."

Phoebe was lost. She was missing a big piece of information, the key that would decipher Prue's ramblings.

Prue looked up at Phoebe. "She's my daughter," she stated as though Phoebe was aware that she once had a child.

Phoebe was at a loss for words. Prue was making even less sense to her. Prue never had a child, let alone a teenager. "Prue, honey, I think you need to take a nap. You never had a child. Right?"

Prue looked at Darryl before allowing her eyes to fall to Faith. "I did have a baby. Right after I turned seventeen."

Phoebe's jaw dropped slightly. "You… you had a baby." She turned around to look at the young woman sleeping on the couch. "You have a daughter." She turned back to Prue, with a hurt look upon her face. A look that only reflected a fraction of the hurt she was feeling. "What the hell, Prue? How could you have a kid running around in the world, and not tell us?"

"I was sixteen when I got pregnant, Phoebe. Grams set me to live with Aunt Janice until it was time for the baby to come, and then she took her away from me. She told me the baby's life was in danger, and that we had to send her away to keep her safe. I believed her."

"Did she say why the baby was in danger?" Phoebe asked.

"No," Prue said slowly. She thought over everything that happened in the days before and after the baby's birth trying to remember if Grams had given any indication of why. Everything was a bit hazy though. She could only remember bits and pieces, and what she could remember was cloudy. The only memory that was clear in her mind, was her holding the tiny baby in her arms just moment after giving birth. She could remember every feature of her daughter's face, right down to the baby's dimpled cheeks and big wondering eyes.

Prue looked to Faith again and studied her face. A few of the bruises that had been there when she arrived had faded, while the freshest ones were looking worse then ever. She was happy to see that the shallow cuts on her face were healing rather quickly. Despite her face looking like she went a few rounds with a demon, Prue could see her baby behind the damage. Her beautiful baby girl was lying on her couch.

She was home again.

Darryl cleared his throat, and then gently asked, "How sure are you she's your daughter?"

"I…" Prue pushed unsure of how to explain it. "I felt a connection to her from the moment I laid eyes on her. There was just something that drew me to her. It made me want to protect her. So, I am positive that she is the baby Grams sent away."

"It does make sense," Phoebe added. "She has the same birthday as Prue's baby, and was adopted out of San Francisco. That's too much of a coincidence."

"Then that could help us tomorrow," Darryl said.

"What's tomorrow?" Prue asked.

"In the morning I am escorting Faith to the station," Darryl said.

"What's going to happen to her? I mean, besides being Prue's daughter, she is just a kid."

"A kid who confessed to killing two people, and who has clearly been abused." Darryl sighed. "All else aside, there was a gross oversight with her case. She's a minor who was question without proper representation. That alone is enough to have her case reevaluation. I have a lawyer friend who works at Social Services. I've already called her and explained Faith's situation. What I know of it, anyways. She's going to meet us at the station at nine to get the paperwork started. She'll be able to explain Faith's options to us then."

"And what if she doesn't want us to do anything?" Phoebe asked. "Faith seems to really want to go back to hospital."

"Then we'll just have to convince her," Prue stated.

"Prue, I'm all for giving this girl the benefit of doubt," Phoebe hesitated.

"But?" Prue pressed.

"But… What if she is dangerous? Like more dangerous then what we've read. She did blink like a warlock. Who is her father?"

"I…" Prue said, and then paused. She thought about it, and realized she had no memory of getting pregnant. "I don't know. I don't remember getting pregnant."

"Then her father could be a warlock, Prue."

Prue looked at Faith with sadness filling her heart. It was a valid question. She knew that, but it didn't make the sting hurt any less. This girl was her daughter. A daughter who had committed horrible atrocities. There was always a chance that would turn out to be just as violent as she once was.

There was a feeling deep in her heart that challenged that thought. A feeling that overrode all her rational thoughts. She wanted to believe that there was good in Faith. No; she needed to believe that there was good in her daughter.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about anything, Phoebe. I truly believe that she won't hurt us. There was something in the way she looked at us during dinner last night. Like she wanted nothing more then to hide away for the rest of her life. There is good in her. We just have to help her see that, and if she ever does become a danger, then we'll deal with it."

Phoebe looked down Faith, and for just a second pushed all her worries to the side. She wanted to see if she could see Faith in the same way Prue was. As a member of their family, instead of the stranger that she was. If they were right, then this girl was her niece. It was a strange thought. She wanted to see Faith in that way. She truly did but doubt and fear clouded that.

She looked back to Prue, who was staring at her with such hopeful eyes, that Phoebe couldn't bare to take this away from her, despite her reservations. "Alright, you win, but I think that you should at least get DNA test done. Just to be positive that she is your daughter."

"I agree," Darryl stated. "Since she is a minor, without a parent, she'll become a ward of the state. Her out come, regardless of what it is, will be better if she has you advocating for her."

"Then we'll have it done as soon as possible," Prue agreed. She looked to her friend and noticed again how raggedy he was looking. "You should get some sleep, Darryl."

Darryl nodded his head in agreement. He began making his way to the entrance but paused. He turned back to Prue, and sincerely said, "I'm routing for a happy ending here. Faith has been through hell several times over, and that's just what I've had a chance to read. It's not surprising that she ended up in the situation she did. Even if the DNA test comes back negative, she really lucky to have you in her corner."

"Thank you," Prue said. "I really appreciate that, and everything you've done the last few days."

Darryl nodded his head with a quiet, "You're welcome," and then quietly left.

Prue turned to find Phoebe returning the file they had been reading to the top of the pile.

"I think we should do the same," Phoebe said softly. She gently placed her hand on Prue's shoulder as she passed by her. A small gesture, but a comforting one none-the-less.

Prue didn't sleep that night. Her mind was racing far too much for it to allow that to happen. Instead she sat in the armchair watching the girl, who she was praying was her daughter, sleep. Her mind flip-flopped between the possibilities of a life with Faith, and with fears of what was going to happen if Darryl's lawyer friend couldn't help them.

Every now and again her eyes would shift from Faith to the pile of files sitting on the coffee table. She was itching to read them. To get an idea of what her childhood was like. To know the horrible events that led her baby into the situation she was in. However, she refrained from doing so. Reading those files felt like a gross violation of Faith's privacy. It wasn't like reading her police file while trying to figure out who she was. This was different. This felt more intimate.

If Faith indeed was her daughter, then she wanted Faith to trust her enough to tell her everything that happened in her life. She wanted to be the kind of mother that would always be there for her children. She wanted to have that kind of relationship with Faith.

Prue was also terrified of how Faith was going to react when she explained what they learned. She didn't want to have another episode like they had earlier. She didn't know how or why Faith could teleported like a warlock, but she did know that it hurt her. Prue would very much like to avoid that again if possible.

A little after six in the morning, just as the sun was peeking into the Manor, Prue decided to break the spell Phoebe cast and wake Faith. She wanted to explain everything to her, while still giving her time to eat and shower again before Darryl arrived.

It took a little while to rouse Faith out of her slumber. The spell that Phoebe cast seemed to work incredibly well. She made a mental note to only use the spell in a pinch. It would be very bad if a demon attacked and she couldn't wake her sisters up.

When Faith finally did rise, she looked at Prue with confusion. It was when Faith quietly asked why she was looking at her like that, that she realized Faith's confused look was simply mirroring her look of concern.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Ah…" Faith groaned. "I remember you and your sister holding me hostage. Everything after that is a blank."

"You passed out after you teleported into the dining room."

Faith snorted. "Teleport? As in disappear here, and reappear there? Yeah. Slayers can't do that. We beat things up with our super strength and leave the witchy stuff to the witches."

"I don't know how you did it, Faith, but you did. I do have an idea though," Prue said and then turned to pick up the top file. She handed it to Faith and waited quietly as she read over it.

"So, your cop friend figured it out," Faith said quietly.

"He found out who you are; that you are just a kid, but there are a lot of holes that only you can fill. Like why you gave the police a different birthdate."

Faith looked up from the file she was reading and glanced at the pile it had come from. "Did you read them all?"

Prue followed Faith eyesight, and for a moment thanked the gods that she had decided not to read them. It was well hidden, but she could still see the look of fear in Faith's eyes. "No, and I won't read them unless you want me to."

"Good," Faith said as she tossed the file onto the pile causing it to tilt slightly. "My age has nothing to do with what I did in Sunnydale. I left that life behind when I hitchhiked my way across the country. Paulina is dead."

"The way I see it, that girl is sitting on my couch in desperate need of help," Prue said. She was trying very hard to keep the 'mom tone' out of her voice, but she knew she was failing.

"That girl is dead," Faith spat, "and the only thing this girl needs is for your cop buddy to take my ass back to psych ward where I belong."

"Why do you want to go back there so badly?" Prue question.

"Why do you care?" Faith countered.

"Why don't you care?"

The anger Faith suddenly felt was evident on her face, as well as in her tone. "Because two people are dead."

"You said the first one was an accident," Prue reminded her.

The anger slipped form Faith's face. "Finch is dead because I was a careless, shitty slayer. The world is safer with me locked up."

"I don't believe that for a second," Prue said kindly. "But you are getting what you want. Darryl will be here at nine o'clock to take you to the station."

"About damn time," Faith growled softly.

"This is different than before, Faith. Darryl knows you're a minor. He has a friend who's a lawyer. She's going to try and help you."

"You can't help me," Faith spat. "Look lady. I don't know why the PTB want me here, and frankly I don't care. You're nothin' to me. I'm nothin' to nobody. Don't waste your time on me, 'cause no matter what you do, the results are gonna be the same."

"If there is one thing I've learned since becoming a witch is that nothing is set in stone. Me and my sisters fight evil every day, and we change the fate of thousands of people by doing so. We have lost people close to us because of the lives we lead. There have been many days where we just wanted to give up and go back to our normal lives because of that. Then we remember why we were chosen for this. What role we play in this never-ending cycle."

"The only role I have to play is death," Faith spat. "I can't be trusted to not hurt people."

"I think it's the other way around. People can't be trusted not to hurt you."

"Well you have that right. I only get to live if I am locked up. It's really a win-win. I get to keep my life, and I'm not off fucking up people's lives."

"Is somebody after you?" Prue asked sharply.

"It doesn't matter," Faith sighed.

"It matters to me," Prue said as calmly as she could. On the inside, she fought the urge to pull Faith into a hug. She wanted nothing more than to make Faith feel safe, something she suspected Faith hadn't felt for a very long time.

"Why the fuck do you care?" Faith spat.

Prue recoiled at the anger in Faith's voice. She wanted to tell her the truth; that Faith was her daughter. There was something inside of her that told her that telling Faith at that moment would be ill advised. After the scene in the kitchen the day before, she was sure Faith would freak out. That was the last thing Prue needed to deal with. Darryl would be there in just a few hours, and then they could get Faith the help that she deserved, whether she believed so or not.

Instead of giving into her instincts, Prue reached under the coffee table for her purse. She pulled her wallet out, and then tossed her purse on the floor. She opened her wallet and pulled out a faded picture from behind her driver's license. She looked at it fondly for a moment before handing it to Faith.

"This is my daughter," Prue chocked. "She'll be seventeen in a few months. This picture is all I have of her. My grandmother took it just a few moments before she took my baby away."

"Why are you showing me this?" Faith asked as she shoved the picture back into Prue's hand.

"To make you understand why I care," Prue said as she looked down at the picture. "I never got a chance to be there for my baby. Grams told me her life was in danger. To be honest, I just thought that was code for her not wanting me to be saddled with a baby at seventeen. When I became a witch and learned about the secret life Grams lived, I realized that her life probably had been in danger. I have no idea from what, but if Grams sent her away, then it must have been something horrible."

Prue paused, and took a deep breath. "If my daughter was sitting right in front of me, I would do whatever it took to protect her in any way I could. I care because if my daughter was in your shoes, sitting in front of a stranger in desperate need of help, I would hope that person would help her."

Faith looked down at the picture in Prue's hand. "Look lady, I'm not your kid, and you giving me some sad sob story won't change the facts. I am a convicted murderer, and in a few hours, I'll be back in a padded cell. So, feel free to waste your time caring about a lost cause. I don't give a damn. Soon I'll be nothing more then a distant memory to ya."

Faith stood suddenly and bolted from the room as fast as her body could move. A few moments later, Prue could hear the bathroom door being slammed shut. She sighed heavily, "Well that could have gone better."

Prue looked down at the picture of her beautiful baby. The tiny baby's eyes seemed to stare straight off the page and into Prue's. She had been dreaming about those piercing eyes since the day she had been born. Imagining what it would be like when she finally was reunited with her daughter. Hoping that wherever her child was, that she was happy; with two loving parents, a dog and cat, and a couple of sisters.

Faith was not what she imagined her daughter would grow up to be. The hell that Darrel hinted at, was never what she wanted for her child. Just thinking about the possibilities of what she went through left a sour taste in her mouth.

She looked at the pile of files fighting between the urges to read every word or light the pile ablaze in the fireplace. In the end, she simple slipped the picture of her baby back into her wallet before making her way into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith threw the door to the bathroom closed in a frenzy, not noticing that the door rebounded, leaving it open slightly. Rage burned in her chest, making it hard to breath. She sank to the floor as she tried to regain control of herself.

As she calmed her anger, the fear that had triggered the episode steadily mounted. Fear is something that Faith knew well. Since she had been a young child, fear is what had dictated nearly every moment of her life.

Fear is what had caused her to hide under her bed after her daddy and sister had died. That was the night when her Mommy began to destroy everything, they owned in the living room, during her first drunken rage. She had only been three years old at the time.

Fear is all Faith felt for the next three years until social workers showed up at their house wondering why Faith wasn't in school yet. She had been terrified at what her mother would do to her that night. She hid in the closet the entire time the ladies had been talking to her mother, and when her mother finally came looking for her, she knew what was about to happen. The beating she was expecting never came. Instead, Faith experienced something she hadn't felt for years. For a brief moment, Faith felt loved and hopefully. Her mother promised to get sober, and to be the mother Faith deserved.

The promise Faith's mother made to her that night didn't last long, and neither did the hopeful feeling. Just a few months after starting school, Janet had not only broken her promised to Faith, but she had progressed to taking drugs. The fear that Faith felt every day she went to school that year had been horrible. Her mother had made it clear every morning before she left that if anybody saw the bruises of Faith's frail body, she wouldn't get to see the next day.

Faith lived like that for two years before her gym teacher noticed a bruise on her back during gym class. That night while Faith had been doing her homework, Faith's mother had come into her room, stoned to the point the woman could barely stand, and proceeded to make good on the promise she made every morning.

When Faith finally did wake again, she was lying in a hospital room, with a bunch of doctors and nurses standing around her. She doesn't remember much of what happened after that, just a lot of touching, soft reassuring voices, and a shit tone of pain. She found out a few weeks later that her mother, knowing there were people coming to take her child, had overdosed just after the beating.

The fear Faith felt after that was of varying degrees. She had no family left, which left her a ward of the state. That left Faith with a kind of fear she had never felt before; the fear of the unknown. It wasn't long before she became numb to the unknown. Instead she flip-flopped between being fearful of the abusive foster family she was living with, to being fearful of being sent away from the good ones. The good ones were few and far in between, and something always happened to get her sent away.

Just before Faith turned twelve, she decided she couldn't take the fear of being hit at any moment by her foster dad, and the fear of going to sleep at night only to wake to her foster brother in her bed. Living on the streets wasn't exactly what she thought it would be, however. She had run away from one kind of fear straight into a bunch of new kind of fears.

The worst fear on the street was where she was going to sleep each night. It had to be somewhere warm, off the beaten path to avoid the cops, church workers, men who wanted to have sex with her, and the worst, the older street kids who raid the younger ones for their scraps. Faith had made a few friends who helped her. She was small and scrappy, which made stealing things easier for her then her bigger friends, but it also made her an easy target for the older kids.

During her time on the streets, she had been picked up by the police three times and sent back into foster care, and once to a group home. Each home was worse the then the last, so she only stuck around for a few days.

Faith had been on the streets for a little over a year, when she was approached by a strange lady. At the perfect time as well. Puberty had hit Faith hard and fast. She went from small and scrappy to looking like she was an adult nearly overnight. It was getting harder and harder for Faith to pull a fast one on shop owners, and even harder for her to avoid the perverts.

Diana Lounge became Faith's guardian angel for a brief time. The fears that plagued Faith when she was in a good home, were present more then ever at the beginning. Diana was kind to her, she feed her well, she caught her up in all her schoolwork and even advanced her further than her level, and she trained her for a future as a vampire slayer, something that she prayed every night would happen. Still, Faith was terrified that she would have to leave.

Just as Faith began to relax with Diana, the ancient vampire Kakistos heard that there was a watcher in town training a potential slayer. Two vamps held her down and forced her to watch as he killed Diana. Despite being able to dust the two vampires holding her, the most she was able to do was damage his face. He fled, with vows to return for her.

Faith had to watch the woman she had grown to love die, and just hours later she was fleeing. She had finally been able to relax and live a life free from such strenuous fears. She had been able to be a normal teenager and go to school. She had even made a real friend, something she had never had before.

So, Faith was no stranger to fear. It had been the one constant emotion that always flowed alongside her anger, and she hated it. She despised the how weak she felt, how powerless. That is why she relished in being a slayer. After Kakistos was dusted, she had the freedom she had been seeking since she was three years old. She didn't have to be afraid of anything anymore, because she had power. She could do whatever she wanted to do.

Want. Take. Have.

The motto was simple, but it cemented the sense of freedom she had. Right up until she accidentally killed Finch. Then all of a sudden, the fear returned, only this time her fear was accompanied by visions that she rather never sees again.

It was those visions, and the things that she did as she tried to escape them, that made the fear she was feeling as she coward on the Halliwell's bathroom floor harder to handle. Prue was so determined to help, and she had no doubt in her mind that Prue gets what she wants. She didn't want to be helped, and it terrified her to think about Prue and her friends succeeding in their efforts.

Faith could handle the injections that dampened her powers, and she could take the beatings she was receiving. After all, she deserved a lot worse for what she had done in Sunnydale. What she couldn't handle was it happening again.

That was her greatest fear. That one day, the demon that lives in her head will rear her ugly head again, and this time Angel won't be able to save her. That was a fear that she lived with every day, and she was positive that she always would.

There was a part of her that felt safe while she was in her worn cell. It was like a security blanket of sorts. She knew that as long as she was being given the dampening injections, she couldn't hurt anybody if she slipped back into the darkness again. She couldn't hurt anyone with no strength.

Faith took a deep breath in through her nose, and released it out through her mouth, then she repeated the process. It was something that her therapist had been trying to get her to do with little results. There was just something about being told how to breath that made Faith uncomfortable. Never-the-less, she continued to repeat the process until she managed to push her fears and anger to the side.

She told herself that in a few hours none of this would matter. She would be back in her room at the hospital, and Prue would forget all about her. She would be safe, and even more importantly, the world would be safe from her.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Phoebe was awoken quite abruptly by the bathroom door being slammed shut. She groaned as she rolled onto her back, knowing exactly what had caused that, or rather who. Prue must have told Faith that she was her mother, and by the sounds of it, it did not go well. She rolled over, and closed her eyes again, hoping for just a few more minutes. Sleep refused to come however, and after a few minutes of just lying there, Phoebe decided to crawl out of bed to investigate.

Phoebe had to admit that she was curious about Faith. There was a side of her that was terrified that she was a Trojan Horse. She was dangerous on her own. The police report made that very clear, and she knew being a slayer gave Faith tremendous power. It was the possibility that she was part warlock terrified her more. For all they knew this girl was an imposter and was sent to destroy them from the inside.

There was a part of her, a very large part, that was drawn to her. If Prue was right, then Faith was her niece. That meant that she was family, and Phoebe would do anything to protect her family. Even if it meant help Faith to fight her own inner demons.

The most curious thing about Faith was not her magical status, but the contents of those folders. Or more specifically, what Faith had gone through to have files that large. It was that curiosity that made it impossible for Phoebe to turn away when she peered through the gap in the bathroom door. She watched as Faith managed to calm herself using techniques that she learned about in class.

With Faith's elbows resting on her knees, Phoebe noticed a large cut running down her right arm. She couldn't believe she had missed it. The cut was hard to miss at that moment, however. It was bright red, mostly because one of the stitches at the top had torn and blood was steadily running down her arm, but partly because the cut looked infected.

Faith jumped when Phoebe pushed the door open, which made Phoebe feel bad. She hadn't meant to startle her. Although she should have expected the response. "Sorry," she said softly, as she made her way to the medicine cabinet. As she rummaged through the cabinets, she could feel Faith's eyes burning into her back, and for a fleeting moment she worried about Faith attacking her. When she turned back around, with her arms full of first aid supplies, Faith was in the same position she was in before. Phoebe was mildly impressed with Faith's ability to glare at her, despite the curiosity that seemed to be present.

Phoebe kneeled in front of Faith, depositing the first aid supplies on the floor between them. "You're bleeding," she said softly, as she poured peroxide onto a rag. She looked up as Faith as she made a move toward her but froze suddenly. Faith was sitting so tensely, Phoebe could see Faith's muscle, or rather what was left of them, quaking. "I'm sorry," she quickly said, as she withdrew the rag. "I won't hurt you," She said kindly.

That only seemed to make Faith tenser. Phoebe sat down on the floor with her legs crossed. "I'm going to clean the wound. It's still bleeding, and it looks a little infected. Is that alright?"

Faith looked into Phoebe's eyes before quickly looking away. She nodded her head, giving her permission, but didn't look back at Phoebe. She didn't want to see the pity reflecting back at her. She refused to flinch when the rag touched the open wound, afraid of showing the older woman any more weakness. They had seen enough already.

"You tore a stitch," Phoebe said quietly. The sadness in her voice screamed volumes over her actual pitch, which made Faith internally flinch. "How did this happen?" Phoebe tried to keep her voice even, but she knew that she was failing.

Faith squirmed slightly, and then gruffly stated, "I must have hit it off the door."

Phoebe looked up from the wound. "No. I mean how did you cut your arm?"

"Oh," Faith said softly and then pretended to clear her throat.

Phoebe understood the gesture meant Faith was uncomfortable with telling her. She laid her hand on the girl's knee in an attempt to comfort her. It was that moment that she was sudden sucked into a powerful premonition.

_Faith was lying on a thin mat in a dark room with no windows, when a door suddenly flew open flooding the room with bright light. Two men entered the room, one of who pressed a button on a little remote. Lights flickered on showing every aspect of the room clearly._

_The walls were made on worn padding, like the ones you would find in a psych ward, although there wasn't much left. The majority of the remaining padding was muddled with dry blood. To the right of the room sat a small table and a couple of chairs._

_The second man slammed the door shut, not caring about making noise. There was no one around to hear them, and even if there was nobody there to hear they wouldn't care. The first man reached down and pulled Faith to her feet by her hair, then grasped her by the throat. "It's time for your punishment little girl," the he spat in a British accent, and then tossed her against the wall like she was a doll._

_Faith's head bounced off the wall with a resounding thud. Before her body had fully sunk to the floor, the other man had grabbed her and tossed her against the wall again. This time he held her a few inches off the ground by her throat. "Tell us how much you like being punished little girl," the man demanded with a false sweetness in his voice._

_In response, Faith spat in his face. That was a big mistake. The man growled at Faith and then tossed her across the room. She landed awkwardly a few feet away, with her head catching the table as she went down. Blood began gushing from a gash on her forehead._

_"Now look what you made me do," the man whined. He looked to his partner and said, "Look what she made me do."_

_"Looks to me as though she is begging to be punished severely today Tony," the partner stated cockily._

_"I think you're right, Dan," Tony said, matching his partners cockiness. "What do you think we should do?"_

_"Well I think little girls who misbehave, should be treated like little girls," Dan smiled._

_Tony matched his partner's evil grin, with one of his own, and then began removing his belt. He then slid his belt across his hand slowly, making sure that Faith could see what was about to come. Tony looked to his partner to find him doing the same._

_Giddily, they began whipping Faith with their belts, not caring where their strikes landed. Faith remain quiet at first, but that just seemed to piss them off. With each strike, they became more enraged, striking her harder and harder, until finally her screams were all that could be heard._

_Faith thrashed away from the men, which seemed to piss them of more. Dan grabbed her by the hair and threw her across the room. Faith slammed into the table, slicing her arm off a metal strip that had been bent outwards on the leg._

Phoebe felt herself being thrust out of the premonition, and seconds later being pulled into a new vision.

_Faith was lying in the center of a large group shower, with Dan and Tony standing over her with a hose. She was curled up in a ball shivering violently from the cold water being sprayed onto her. The water beneath her was stained red from the various cuts still seeping blood. The worst of them was the cut she had sustained in the previous vision. It was bright red, and the blood was gushing from it._

_"Stupid bitch," Dan spat. "Just give in. You know you want to. Give into the darkness. Then this can all end."_

_Faith looked up the man, and through shivering blue lips said, "Never."_

_Dan kicked Faith in the stomach, causing her to cry out in pain. Tony chose that moment to turn the hose back on and spraying Faith with it. The harsh spray could be seen pelting at her skins, causing Faith to cringe in pain._

Phoebe felt herself being thrust out of the premonition again and sucked back into another.

_Faith was back in her her padded cell again. She was lying on her mattress with a blonde woman kneeling beside her, slowly stitching up the cut on her arm. The scrubs Faith had been wearing in the first premonition were back on her frail body._

_"I wish you would just give them what they want Faith," the woman said kindly. "All this could be over, if you just give them what they want."_

_Faith looked up at the woman weakly. "You're not Buffy."_

_"What's wrong Faithy? I thought this is what you wanted. Isn't it? You couldn't have me the way you wanted me, so you tried to murder Angel, and when that didn't work you came for me. You couldn't do it though. You never were as good as me. Not then and sure as hell not now."_

_"Shut up," Faith groaned. "You're not her, and ya don't know shit."_

_The blonde bent down low and smiled widely. "All done F. Maybe next time you should fight back. That way this won't happen again."_

_"You're not her. Buffy would rather see me dead."_

_"That hurts me Faith. Here I am stitching up your poor arm, and you keep telling me I am not who I am. I would never want you dead. I'm the good one, remember?"_

_"Leave me alone," Faith groaned weakly. "I won't give you what you want. I won't."_

_"Fine then," the fake Buffy said. "Maybe they can convince you."_

_The Buffy look-a-like turned to the open doorway. Faith didn't have to look to see that Dan and Tony were standing there._

Phoebe was knocked out of the premonition with such force that she tumbled backwards. It took her a few moments to regain her touch on reality. The images she saw were still playing in her mind. She felt nausea as she slowly sifted through the sickening visions.

She looked up at the Faith with the image of her lying on the shower floor at the forefront of her mind. Real fear was etched into Faith's beautiful face, and for a moment Phoebe wondered why. Then she noticed that her sister was kneeling next to her, looking at her with the exact same expression etched into her beautiful face. It was then that Phoebe knew for sure, that Prue was right about Faith being her daughter.

"Are you okay?" Prue asked, concern bleeding from her tone. She didn't wait for an answer, however. "What did you see? You were gone for a while. You've never had a premonition last that long. What did you see? Do we have an innocent to save? Is it a demon?"

"Prue," Faith yelled suddenly.

Prue looked at Faith in shock.

"Give her a second to breath," Faith grunted.

Phoebe looked at Faith and silently thanked her. The premonition had been intense to say the least. She had never had one that last that long, was as clear, or that showed multiple scenes before. It was a bit of a shock on her system.

"I saw how you cut your arm," she told the girl. Fear crept its way back into Faith's features, only it was different this time. Darker. It was as though she knew what Phoebe was about to say. "I saw what they did to you."

Faith held the stare for a moment more, and then turned her head to the side. A new look crept its way into Faith's features, mirroring the feelings that Faith was desperately trying to ignore. Shame. She was ashamed that those men had been able to toss her around like a rag doll, as though her life meant nothing. She was ashamed that she had been able to do nothing to protect herself. She was ashamed that she had broken and allowed them the satisfaction of hearing her screams. But in that very moment, she was most ashamed that Phoebe had seen her like that. Broken, bruised, bloodied, and helpless.

As the fear and shame mounted inside of her, Faith felt an overwhelming urge to be far away from the sympathetic looks the sisters were giving her. She had no idea how she managed to do it, but one second she was trying hard to avoid their gazes, and then the next second she was in the foyer. She stumbled as she reappeared, grabbing ahold of the round table to steady herself. She felt odd, like all her organs had just been sucked into a little hole, before being released again, but at the same time it felt right. Exhilarating even.

She could hear the Halliwell sisters storming towards the stairs, and in a split-second decision she decided to make a break for it. She ran for the front door, throwing it open with such force, that for a moment she was glad she didn't have her strength back yet. She looked back to see Phoebe and Prue running down the last few steps with as much speed as they could muster, and then turned to exit. Instead of making a clean break for it however, she ran right into Darryl, who had just been about to knock.

Faith stumbled backwards and tripped over the rug. She stared up at the man in shock, who was staring down at her with amusement written on his face.

He looked up at the sisters, who were now standing directly behind Faith, and chuckled, "I see we have a runner. I guess I showed up at the right time."


	3. Are You Ready?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed, Buffy, or any character in this story. They belong to their respective owners. I am merely playing with them.
> 
> AN: As of this chapter, I am adding in characters from other fandoms. I'm curious to see how many of you recognize them.

Chapter 3: Are You Ready?

Sun streamed through the police station, illuminating the three women sitting on the front bench, one of whom was cuffed to the arm. Faith was sitting slouched, with her cuffed hand gripping the arm of the bench tightly. For the third time that morning she was grateful to not have her powers because she surely would have crushed the arm.

Nervous wasn't a word Faith liked to use, but in that moment, it was the best word to describe how she was feeling. When she had first run into Darryl, quite literally, she had felt a moment of relief. She was finally getting to go back to the safety of her room at the hospital. As the morning passed however, that relief slowly turned her into a nervous wreck. Not that she was showing it. She refused to show the Halliwells anymore weakness.

At some point between listening to Darryl explained what was going to happen as they ate breakfast, and her actually arriving at the police station she realized something. She had been so worried about losing her mind and hurting somebody, that she had failed to remember her own safety. Even if they did send her back, the council would never let her stay. She would never be safe. If it wasn't Dan and Tony, then it would be somebody else.

Phoebe's premonition reminded her of just how bad the last 'session' was. They had pushed the limits on the physical and mental abuse. The realization that she had almost died this time had hit her hard. While there was still a part of her that wished she would die at times, there was an even greater part of her that wanted to live. It was that will to live that was fueling her nervous bout.

Her tension mounted quickly when they arrived at the station. There were far too many men in uniform for Faith's liking. Every time one of them passed their bench she involuntarily flinched slightly, which only managed to piss her off. She hated feeling so weak, and she hated showing that weakness even more.

Phoebe could practically feel the Faith's nerves rolling of her in waves. She could see that Faith was trying to hide it, and she did so very well. Unfortunately for Faith, Phoebe was more in tune to what people were feeling than the average person. She gently placed her hand on her knees causing the girl to jump. "It's going to be alright," She reassured quietly.

Faith turned to look at Phoebe. "No, it won't," she stated firmly.

The dark bruises on Faith's face seemed to shine more brilliantly than before, reminding Phoebe that there was a very real reason for Faith to be afraid. Images of those men abusing Faith were burned into her mind, replaying like horror film. The premonition had been more intense than her average ones. It had been longer, clearer, and she had a physical connection with what everybody had been feeling.

"I suppose if I had been hurt like that, then I would be terrified as well," Phoebe said quietly. "But you have something you didn't have before. You have me and my sisters."

"Phoebe's right Faith. You have us to fight for you now, and Darryl. He's already taking steps to make sure you don't go back there. And when our sister Piper returns with her boyfriend, you'll have them too."

"A small army at your back," Phoebe stated, with a soft smile.

Their words were intended to help Faith feel more at ease, but they only made her tension rise. "I don't want to go back," she said quietly. Her heart was racing as she spoke the words, as though she was revealing this big secret. In a way it was, but it was more like she was accepting something she had kept buried deep inside of her for months.

She had turned herself into the Los Angeles Police Department for three reasons. Angel had convinced her that her life was worth living; that she was worthy of redemption. The only way she saw that attainable was by turning herself into the police. She could start earning her redemption by being locked away, simultaneously protecting the populous from her, and protecting herself from her own destructive behavior.

When her powers began to drain she thought it was just the Powers That Be revoking what they had gifted her with. It was about two weeks later that she realized it wasn't the PTB removing her powers, rather somebody was muting them with the slayer serum. Buffy had told her all about the test she had to endure, and how Giles had been secretly injecting her for days before hand. It was just a few weeks later when she was taken to the courthouse for a hearing and released into the custody of two men who were claiming to be her uncles.

At first Faith had just assumed this was the PTB's way of teaching her a lesson. Showing her a fraction of the pain she had inflicted. After a while the pain over took everything, and she began to question if this was even them or just The Council. Those thoughts she quickly squashed. It didn't matter if it was the PTB or just The Council, all that mattered was that she did deserve the punishments she was enduring. After all, she had taken two lives and hurt many more.

With that acknowledgement, Faith began repeating the same thing over and over again. 'She deserved this. She couldn't hurt anybody like this. She couldn't escape while she was like this. People were safe because she was like this. She deserved this.' After a while the mantra became a comforting aspect of the 'punishments'. She zoned out on the men and focused solely on those words.

Sitting in that police station she realized that she didn't want to go back to that. In that moment, all the mantras she had been repeating for months flew right out of her head. Instead of being this badass slayer, murderer, or abuse victim, she was just a scared fifteen-year-old girl.

"I don't want to go back," Faith repeated softly.

A tall brunette woman wearing a dark grey suit was suddenly standing in front of her. "Well that's good to know, because if I do my job right, you won't be," she said with conviction. She shifted the files to her right arm and extended her left hand out for Faith, who hesitantly extended her arm and accepted the offered hand.

"I'm Laurel Lance. I'm a lawyer who works at the South Bay Social Services," the woman said, and then waved an officer over. "We are going into an interview room, so we can discuss your case privately."

Faith looked back to Phoebe and Prue unsurely as the officer cuff her hands. She only allowed the officer to take her away when Prue told her that they would be there waiting.

Laurel entered the room right behind her and sat the files on the table. "What do you drink Faith?" she asked kindly.

"Um… water is fine," she replied hesitantly.

Laurel turned to the table behind her and pulled a bottle of water from the minifridge below it. She handed it to Faith and then turned to pour a cup of coffee for herself. She sat down, and then looked to the officer.

"Kindly uncuff her," she said firmly, but not rudely.

"But she's dangerous ma'am," the officer replied.

"She won't hurt me," Laurel said, and then turned to look at Faith. "Will you, Faith?"

"Ah… No," Faith stuttered.

Laurel turned back to the officer and said, "See. She says she won't hurt me. Now kindly uncuff her and leave." The officer looked hesitant to obey, but after a moment he did so. "Good. I thought he would never leave. So, how are you?"

Faith paused, surprised by the question. "Five-by-five," she responded.

"Really? Because it looks like you're about a one-by-one at this point," Laurel joked. She smiled at Faith, hesitantly smiled back. "I get it. You've been through a lot, and here is just another adult in your life to screw it up, right? Well, if I have my way, you'll actually be able to live your life soon, but in order for that to happen I need a few things. Starting with you agreeing to cooperate."

Faith nodded her head slightly, not trusting her voice at that moment.

"Good," Laurel said. She reached for the top folder and opened it. "First things first, we need to discuss where you have been for the last few months?"

"Why?"

"Because your uncles reported you as a runaway over a month ago, and then you showed up at a stranger's house unconscious and badly beaten. I would like to know who has been hurting you."

Faith looked at Laurel with a hard look.

"I can't help you unless you open up," Laurel relied.

"They…" Faith began weakly. She cleared her throat lightly. "They're not my uncles."

Laurel looked down and flipped through the file for a few moments. "It says here that Dan and Tony Charles were your father's brothers."

"My father was an only child."

"Not your adoptive father. They were your biological father's brothers," Laurel said.

"What are you talking about?" Faith interrupted.

Laurel looked up at Faith sharply. "You didn't know you were adopted, did you?" She asked unsurely.

Faith sat there and stared at Laurel numbly. The bitch hadn't been her real mother. She always wondered how a woman could treat her own child like she treated Faith. How her own mother couldn't love her like the mothers on tv loved their daughters. Now she knew. Her mother treated her like that because she had no love for her, and she had no love for her because she wasn't her real mother. Biologically or emotionally.

Her father had loved her. Of all the confusing things in her childhood this way one thing she was sure about. He doted on her, and never treated her any differently than her older sister. It was their mother who was generally horrible to her, even before her sister and father were killed. James had been her father despite not sharing any DNA with her, but Janet had just been a bitch.

"How do you know this?" she asked after a few moments.

Laurel opened one of the files laying in front of Faith, she flipped to the back and tapped the page. Faith read every word of the document three times before the full effect hit her. She had been born right here in San Francisco to unknown parents, abandoned at Saint Mary's, and adopted a few days later by the Lehanes.

Faith's head was swimming with images and voices…

_"You're not my daughter," Janet had yelled as she hit her again. "You will never be my daughter."_

_"The PTB wanted her returned home. Her destiny is greater than she knows, and she wasn't fulfilling it where she was." Whistler had told Prue while she slept. "She'll explain everything once she wakes. What she knows anyway. The rest you'll have to figure out yourself. I did what I was supposed to do. Deliver her home again. The rest is up to you."_

_"This is my daughter," Prue chocked. "She'll be seventeen in a few months. This picture is all I have of her. My grandmother took it just a few moments before she took my baby away."_

_"She'll be seventeen in a few months."_

_"The PTB wanted her returned home."_

_"She'll be seventeen in a few months."_

_"Deliver her home again."_

_"She'll be seventeen in a few months."_

"I'll be seventeen in a few months," Faith said aloud. The implication of those words hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Yes, you will be," Laurel replied. "Faith are you okay?"

"Yeah," Faith said a little dazed. "I'm not the smartest chick, but doesn't it seem a little fishy? Two men randomly showing up to claim me as their niece, when my bio-parents ain't even known."

Laurel crossed her hands in front of her. "Yes. I suppose it does seem a little fishy."

"They aren't my uncles," Faith repeated. "They're the ones who did this to me," she spat angrily as she pointed to her face. "I never ran away. I've been with them the entire time."

Laurel open the file to the back and jotted a few things down. "We are going to head to the hospital in a little while Faith, to get you checked out. I want to make sure you are not seriously injured, and to catalogue all your injuries for your file. If that is alright?"

Faith was stunned that she had asked her that. Nobody had ever asked her if something was okay with her. They just did want they wanted and took what they liked. "Yeah. Getting checked is probably a good idea."

"Good. While we are at the hospital, there will be an officer there. Olivia is one of the city's best SVU detectives."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why bother with the detective? You won't catch them."

Laurel closed the file. "My only goal here is to help you Faith. I want to do that in any way I can. I can understand how hard this is for you. If these men are not your uncles, then we need to prove it, and any little bit of information you can give us will help."

Faith crossed her arms and stared at Laurel. She had dealt with people like Laurel before. Most of them were cold towards her. She was just another charge to them. Saw her as nothing more than their job. Then there were the ones like Laurel, who honestly wanted to help her. She would be disappointed when she realized there was no saving Faith. Something always happened, and eventually they gave up.

"Okay Faith," Laurel sighed. "Let's get you to the hospital."

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Prue and Phoebe were still sitting on the same bench, waiting patiently for Darryl to return from talking to his captain. Well, Prue was waiting patiently at least. Phoebe, on the other hand was beginning to become agitated with the wait.

Phoebe sighed loudly. "What's taking Darryl so long? He said he would be back in a few minutes. It's been more than a few minutes."

Prue smiled softly at her sister's impatience. "Darryl will be back Phoebe."

"I know he will. I just want some good news. That lawyer lady has been talking with Faith forever. I just want to make sure she is alright."

"It's hard to believe you thought she was dangerous just this morning," Prue teased.

"Oh. I still believe she can be dangerous, but I also believe that she just needs a little guidance," Phoebe said absentmindedly. She was searching the station for any sign of Darryl, Faith, or Laurel. She huffed, and then turned to Prue. "Besides, she's your daughter. If anybody in this world is qualified to help her, it's us."

"I wonder what her powers are," Prue wondered aloud.

"Well we know she can blink like a warlock," Phoebe stated. "Is her father a warlock, because that could explain why she went dark for a while."

Prue searched her mind for what felt like the hundredth time for any memory for Faith's father. She sighed heavily when she found none. "It's possible I guess. That would explain why Grams sent Faith away and erased any memory of him from my mind."

"Do you think she's always been able to blink, or is Grams' spell is breaking apart?"

"She looked surprised when she did it this morning. The spell must be breaking apart now that she is home," Prue said, and then looked to Phoebe. "What did you see in your vision? You looked a little freaked out, and you've seemed to do a complete one-eighty with Faith since then."

Phoebe's shoulders sagged as she sighed, "It was horrible Prue. The way they were tossing her around like she was nothing, beating her like she was worthless. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. Especially not a kid."

"Then we'll make sure they pay for it," Prue said darkly.

Darryl choose that moment to reappear in front of them. "Sorry ladies. My Captain was watching Faith interact with Laurel. He's not convinced that a fifteen-year-old could do the things Faith did, but he did believe our story. Which is good. All we have to do is sign our statements, and it will go into the report."

Prue stood quickly and asked, "When can we see Faith?"

"Laurel and I will be taking Faith to the hospital to get checked out and start the police report. Though from what Laurel says, she is reluctant to cooperate with the investigation. You won't be able to see her until at least tonight. I won't be surprised if they keep her for observation overnight."

"But Prue's her mom," Phoebe objected.

"I know this Phoebe, but nobody else does," Darryl countered. "In the eyes of the law she was abandoned at a church and adopted. In order to get custody of Faith, she first had to prove that Faith is her daughter.

"Well that's dumb," Phoebe muttered.

"In this case I agree, but the law is there for a valid reason," Darryl admitted.

"How do I do that?" Prue asked.

"Speak with Laurel," Darryl said. "She'll know what to do."

"What is the likelihood of her getting to come home with us?" Prue asked uneasily.

"If we can get Faith to tell us where they were holding her, there is a good chance the judge will release Faith into the custody of a family member. A simple DNA test will prove that you are her mother, but after what happened the last time they are going to be more thorough."

"Morris," a gruff voice yelled. Darryl turned at his captain's bellow. "I'll be back," he said, and then followed his captain into his office.

Phoebe huffed as she flopped onto the bench. "Here we go again," she groaned. Prue just chuckled as she took her place next to her. She patted her sister's leg comfortingly.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith was lying in her hospital bed, mindlessly watching some old movie. She was numb, both from her long, emotionally exhausting day, and the medicine her incredibly perky doctor had prescribed.

After Laurel had finished going over her plan, the lawyer and Darryl had taken her to the hospital, for the most grueling, emotionally draining afternoon of her life. She seriously would rather fight Kakistos again than spend another day going through all the test she had endured.

Some of the tests were quite simple. She had several x-rays taken, blood drawn, MRI and Cat scans done, and a full physical completed. What was the most daunting was the rape exam that Olivia, (the SVU detective who was only in the room because Darryl had talked her into allowing in the room), had managed to talk her into doing. Neither agreements were given up easily, nor in a timely manner. She was impressed, and touched with their tenacity towards punishing the people who were responsible. Not that she would ever tell them that.

Hours after she had arrived, the doctor finally came in to tell her that the worst of the injuries was a few broken ribs, which was why she had been having trouble breathing deeply, and a small bruise at the front of her brain. She was worried about the bruise, but since Faith was alert and moving around, she wasn't too worried. It was the infection in the cut on her arm that she was most worried about. She wanted to monitor it until she was completely sure they were in the safety zone before releasing her. Which is why Faith was cuffed to a hospital bed, in a private room. Laurel had not been happy with her being cuffed, but since Faith was not on a locked ward, this was the only way they could guarantee that she would stay where she was.

Faith had been hoping for some peace when the doctors finally left, which she was graciously granted. Unfortunately, the quiet left room for her to think, or rather overthink. Her mind was racing with the fact that she had been adopted, and how Prue spoke of her daughter. It wasn't a coincidence that the PTB just happened to send her to somebody who gave up a daughter the same age as her.

She tried not to think about what it would mean for her. The way Prue was talking about her daughter, gave Faith the impression that if she ever did find her daughter, she would never let her go again. That thought scared her. Faith had only ever had one decent role model, and just as she was beginning to relax and enjoy life Diana was ripped from her life.

Although she hadn't been around the Halliwell sisters long, she could sense that they were good people. There was a small part of her that fantasized about being released and going to live with Prue. She wondered what it would be like to have a mom, a real one, someone who treated her like her dad had, and aunts who would help her get away with things her mother would never allow. She wondered if that was where this new-found power came from, and if she would develop any others.

There was a larger part of her however, that kept shutting the fantasies down. She kept reminding herself that fantasizing only led to more disappointment, and she had years of disappointments to prove it. She had dreamed about being saved from her mother's tyranny for years, and when it finally happened, her life didn't approve any. She was still abused, still ruled by a tyrant, and still forced to live her life in fear.

While on the streets she had dreamt about being saved by a nice rich lady, who would love her like she was her own. She never truly believed it would ever happen, but the dream kept her going on some of the toughest nights. Then a nice rich lady did save her, and for a little while she had been happy. Diana had left no room in Faith's busy mind to worry about losing her. She made Faith feel safe and happy and loved. She had let her guard down, which had been a big mistake. When Diana was murdered, she'd been crushed.

Spending time with Buffy and the Scoobies had made her long for a friendship like they had. She had fantasized about becoming their friend and becoming a real part of their group. Alas, they always seemed to keep her on the outskirts, and even when she finally did become close with Buffy, she fucked everything up by killing Finch.

That's what she does. She fucks everything up. That's why she stopped fantasizing about things when she turned herself in. Instead she just accepted everything that came her way and didn't wish for anything. It just made her life simpler.

Her quiet time was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. She looked over at door to find Prue standing there with a small duffle bag in her hand.

"Is it alright if I come in?" She asked.

"Sure," Faith replied and then added. "It's not like I can go anywhere anyways." Faith shook her left arm, causing the cuffs to rattle against the metal rail.

Prue set the duffle bag on the open chair and then sat on the foot end of Faith bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked hesitantly. She was nervous. Probably more nervous than the day she sat in front of Grams gearing up to tell her that she was pregnant.

Prue knew that she had to approach the subject of Faith being her daughter very carefully. She didn't know how she was going to react or if she would even care. She wanted her daughter with her. She wanted to be able to take care of her, to protect her, to teach her all the knowledge she had to give. Whatever road Faith's destiny took her down, Prue wanted to be there with her.

Faith was a wild card though. She was already a teenager. One who was convicted of two murders and committed to a psychiatric hospital. Prue wasn't going to begin to assume how that affected Faith. She didn't want to do anything that is going to trigger Faith.

"How are you feeling?" Prue asked again, after a pregnant pause.

"Better than I was," Faith smiled goofily.

Prue chuckled. "I bet."

Faith watched as Prue awkwardly looked around the room. It was weird to think that the woman who was sitting on her bed could be her biological mother. It made her mind run faster then she could cope with. The silence was unbearable to her.

"So…" she said awkwardly. "What'd ya bring me?"

A smile formed on Prue's lips. She slipped off the bed as she started to ramble, "I spent a few of days in the hospital a couple of years ago, so I know how cold and boring it can get." Prue pulled out a soft blanket, several books, two spiral notebooks, with several boxes of pens, colored pencils, and markers. "I didn't know if you were the reader type, or the drawing type, or the writing type, so I brought all three. This way you could have the one you like, and two other you can choose from."

"Thanks," Faith coughed uncomfortable.

Prue sat the supplies on Faith's tray and then, without even thinking about it, open the blanket and spread it over Faith. Prue smoothed the blanket out, and then turned back to the duffle bag. She pulled a fairly large container out of the bag and placed it right in front of Faith.

Faith didn't notice the container at first. She was too busy gently rubbing her un-cuffed hand on the blanket Prue had just spread over her like she was tucking in her three-year-old for bed. The last time she had been tucked into bed was when she was three years old. Her daddy would come into her and her sister's room every night to tuck them into bed. He would read them a story, and then he would pull their blankets real tight and smother them with kisses. It had always been her favorite time of day.

"Faith," Prue said, as she gently shook Faith's arm. "Are you alright?"

Faith looked the hand on her arm and slowly followed it up to look Prue in the eyes. She was looking at her with such worry, the same way her daddy had been looking at her that time she fell out of bed and broke her arm. It was that moment that she was certain that Prue was her mother. Only a parent looked at their children like that.

"Yeah," Faith grunted. It was then that she noticed the container of lasagna sitting on her table. Her eyes lit up as her mouth began to water. She grabbed the container and practically ripped the lid off. She took a long sniff of the warm pasta, and then mindlessly took the fork Prue was offering her.

"I spoke with the nurse before I smuggled it in to make sure you were allowed to have food. I was a little surprised that they said it was okay so easily. I figured they would have some rule against it."

"Thank you," Faith said with her mouth full.

"You're welcome," Prue said as she sat in the now empty seat. "So… Which do you prefer?"

"Huh?"

"Which do you like better? The books, drawing, or writing?"

"Oh um," Faith said. She wiped her mouth and looked over the items Prue had brought her. "I'm more of the fighter type. My docs at Atty made me do other things though. Not much to do when you're on a locked floor with other looney toons. Drawing was kind of fun, except that my docs were concerned with what I was choosing to draw. Writing was better until they started reading what I was writing. So, I just started reading all the boring books they had there. Some of them were ancient."

Prue smiled softly at Faith. "Well I'm sure I will love anything that you draw, and I can promise that I will never read anything you write unless it's an emergency, or you want me too. What I can't promise is that you will like any of these books. I'm not much of a reader. I like pictures. Even make a living on taking them. My sister Piper on the other hand loves books, which is why I raided her bookshelf."

Faith picked up the top book and looked it over. "I'll read just about anything. It helps keep my mind off what I did."

Prue moved to sit on the end of the bed, and gently squeezed Faith's covered leg. "I'm here if you want to talk."

"Until you're not," Faith said. "Once the perky doctor releases me, I'm going back to Atty, and you'll go back to a normal life."

"Um… Actually, there is something that I would like to talk to you about," Prue said.

Faith looked down at her hands as her breathing picked up a step. Hearing Prue tell her that she is her mother cemented it in her mind. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

"Do you remember the picture I showed you? The one of my daughter?" Prue's voice betrayed how nervous she was feeling. She tried to keep it even, but there was a shaky note to it. "Well… you see…"

Prue was interrupted by a nurse entering the room. "Sorry to interrupt," the tall, slightly chubby black man said kindly. "I'm Malik. I'm going to be your nurse for the night. Will mom be staying tonight?"

"Oh…um…" Prue stumbled.

"She's not my mom," Faith answered evenly. She watched the hurt look that formed on Prue's face. Yet another reason she was positive Prue was her mother. "My mother died when I was a kid, leaving me an orphan."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that," Malik said.

"Don't be. The woman was a crack addict who abused me. The bitch got what she deserved. Just like I did." Faith rattled the cuffs around her wrist again. "I don't deserve to have people care for me. Anybody who does just ends up dead."

Malik picked up Faith's chart and scribble something into the notes. "Well I don't believe that for a second. Everybody deserves to have somebody there to love and look after you." He flipped the page and scribbled something else, then looked up at Prue. "Though I am sorry to say the visiting hours are over for all none family members."

"Okay," Prue said. She looked at Faith and gave her leg a gentle squeeze. "I'll come see you in the morning before my photo shoot. Sleep tight."

Faith didn't trust her voice at that moment. She had already said more than she should have. She didn't want hope to slip into her voice, causing Prue to think she had a chance at this whole mother thing. Faith screwed up everything she touched. She wasn't about ready to screw up this kind woman who brought her a blanket, books, and pens, pencils, and paper. Who was eager to come see her the very next morning.

No. Faith was not going to screw Prue's life up. She was going to back to Atascadero where she belonged, to wait for when The Council came for her again. Then she would do whatever they wanted her to do so she could finally be free.

"Seems like a nice lady," Malik said as he placed the blood pressure cuff on her arm. "She sure did bring you a lot of things to occupy your time."

"Yeah," Faith sighed. "Just like a real mom."


	4. Feelings

Chapter 4: Feelings

Phoebe rolled over and groaned loudly. She was trying not to hate her sister at that moment, but dammit she just wanted to sleep. This was the third time she had been woken up by Prue's need to remodel the house in the middle of the night.

It had been just after three when Phoebe had been woken by a loud crash. Expecting it to be a demon attack, she jumped out of bed and followed the noise through the house. What she found however was her big sister in Grams sewing room with a large broken vase. When Phoebe asked Prue what she was doing, the woman simply responded, "Getting Faith's room ready. Duh." If she hadn't been so damn tired, Phoebe might have laughed at Prue's terminology. Instead she turned away from her sister and crawled back into bed.

The sun was just beginning to peek through the windows, casting a soft glow through her room. She groaned again and threw the blanket off. She knew Prue wanted to go see Faith before her shoot at ten and knew she would be dragging since she had been up half the night. She decided she would be a good little sister and bring coffee to Prue. Lots and lots of coffee.

A little while later, Phoebe cautiously stepped into the room that Prue was fixing up for Faith. She looked around the small room, surprised by how much Prue had gotten done in just a few hours. The room that once held a worn loveseat, Grams' ancient sewing machine, and the boundless amounts of thread, needles, and fabric that were kept in wooden boxes, and a tall wardrobe, was now empty, sans a desk and a small dresser.

"Wow," she said allowed.

Prue popped out of the closest. "Yeah. Grams had a lot of sewing supplies. It took me over an hour just to lug all of it up to the attic."

Phoebe handed one of the mugs she was holding. "I thought you might be needing this."

"Thanks," Prue sighed as she eagerly took the mug. She took a long sniff of the delicious aroma, before taking a tentative sip. "Mmm… What time is it?"

"A little after six," Phoebe replied. She rubbed her hands over the worn wallpaper. "Are you going to paint or put up new wallpaper."

"I was thinking about taking down this paper and then painting, but I want to wait until Faith is here before we decide anything. It is going to be her room after all. Plus, we need Leo here to help. He's the one who knows what he is doing, not me."

"Probably a good idea," Phoebe said with a teasing smile. "How are you doing?"

Prue sat the mug of coffee onto the desk she was leaning against. "I have no clue."

"Did you tell her last night?"

"I started to, but a nurse politely kicked me out," Prue sighed.

"So today then?"

"The first chance that I get. I'm heading to the hospital right after I take a shower if you want to come."

"No. I'm good. You go do the mom thing. I'll go see her tonight before I open the club."

Prue gave Phoebe a nod, and then she picked up her coffee. "Thanks again. I don't know what I would have done without you Pheebs. You've really stepped up. I'm proud of you."

There were so many times she wished she would hear those words coming from Prue, but the majority of the time she was disappointed. Prue was the type to overlook all the hard work somebody was doing and only seeing their failures. So, hearing those words was a big deal for Phoebe. "Thank you," she said honestly, then smiled evilly at her. "It's about time you notice how awesome I am."

Prue laughed. "I love you. Don't ever change."

"I love you too," Phoebe mimicked.

"I am going to take a shower. I have two shoots today. One at ten and another at three. After that I am going to head to the hospital."

"I will see you there then. Have a good day."

"You too," Phoebe said. She waited for Prue to close her bedroom door, and then snuck up the stairs to the attic. The sun was shining brightly through the window casting a halo around the book of shadows, almost as if it was calling her to the book.

Phoebe didn't know what she was looking for, other then known warlocks, but she was determined to find something that will lead her to Faith's paternity. She didn't know why she was so worried about Faith having the ability to blink. Maybe it was because she had fought so many warlocks over the last two years. She's seen the damage an innocent seeming person can create. Perhaps it was because of priest warlock who she and her sisters help save from his evil brothers. She had believed that he was evil as well, but in the end, he helped to defeat his siblings and enter into the priesthood. Then again, it could simply be because Faith was her niece, and she wanted to help her in any way she could.

Any way she looked at it, her reasoning came down to one thing; her sisters. Prue and Piper were her everything. She would do anything to keep them safe and happy. Right now, Faith was the one thing that was going to determine Prue's future. That meant Phoebe had to do something, anything, to help Faith.

Phoebe had a few hours before she had to head to the club to set up for the night. Which meant she could research until her hearts content. She took the book over to her favorite chair and began scouring through it.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Faith was staring out her hospital window as the sun steady rose from over the mountain tops. She was exhausted from lack of sleep. Every time she nodded off, she forgot that she was safe in the hospital, instead of back in her worn padded cell. She would wake up covered in sweat, with her heart racing. A nurse would come rushing into the room a few seconds later to check on her, but she would pretend the nurse woke her when he turned on the lights to evade any questions. He knew she was lying, and she knew that he knew she was lying, but they kept up the game all night long.

Now she was enjoying the sunrise, a small amenity that she had not been granted in her windowless prison. Light was a privilege for good girls who follow the rules, and she wasn't a good girl. Good girls don't side with evil or kill for sport. They hunt the bad guys and save the world.

Faith knew they were just trying to break her. It was all a part of The Councils sick and twisted way of testing her to see if she was worthy of rehabilitation. At least that is what Dan told her after the first week of solitude. Faith suspected that him and Tony were just demented men who had been granted permission to play with Faith before killing her. Whatever scenario was the truth mattered very little to her now. She was safe, for a little while at least. That was what she had to focus on. She was safe.

A little after seven, her very perky doctor came skating through her doorway. She groaned inwardly as the blonde rolled closer to her. She was not in the mood to have somebody so damn externally happy around her. It was just a reminder of something she would never experience.

Doctor Arizona Robbins smiled at Faith before sitting down on the end of the bed. "Good morning, Faith. How are you feeling?"

"Five by five," Faith replied.

Arizona hummed lightly. "And how did you sleep?"

"Best night sleep I've had in years," Faith said.

Doctor Robbins looked at the chart and back up at Faith. "Well then, I suppose we can cancel the sleeping aid Nurse Malik suggested we order, or was he right about the nightmares?"

Faith shrugged her shoulders, "I slept fine. Would have been better if he hadn't been in my room every five minutes waking me up."

"Alrighty then. I'll put a note in your chart asking the nursing staff to remain out of your room unless absolutely necessary."

"Sounds good doc," Faith said. "So, when can I get outta here?"

"I would have thought you'd be excited to stay here for a while," Doctor Robbins said.

"Cause I'm going back to a nut house when I get out."

"Well yeah."

Faith eyed Arizona suspiciously. "You're fishing," she accused.

Arizona met Faith's suspicious glare and smiled. "Yeah. I am. You're a smart cookie." She flipped the chart over. "So, I've spoken to your doctors at Atascadero and they've filled me in a little about you."

"Oh yeah? Did they tell what a charmer I am?"

"Yes actually. That's exactly what they told me. They also filled me in on the medications that you were on and urged me to resume your regimen as soon as possible."

"Lovely," Faith snarked.

"But first we need to have you evaluated."

"Which means I'm off the psych ward," Faith summed up.

"Not yet," Arizona said. "We want to continue monitoring the infection in your arm. Which means you're staying put for the moment, but there will be a psych resident coming to talk to you in a little while."

"And if I say no?" Faith asked.

Arizona reached across the bed and grabbed the chain of the cuffs around Faith's left wrist and gave it a little tug. "Then this won't come off." She looked to the open door, and then back to Faith. "Just between you and me, I've been told that the judge is monitoring your case very closely and is already deciding where you are going after we discharge you. So just talk to Doctor Andrews. What's the worst that can happen?"

Faith wanted to say that freedom would be the worst thing, but she kept it to herself. Something told her that Doctor Robbins wouldn't like to hear that. "Sure doc. Whatever you want."

"Great," Arizona said.

"You're too damn perky," Faith said.

"So I've been told," Arizona said, completely unfazed. "I'll check back with you in a few hours."

"Great."

Faith sighed in relief when doctor Robbins left the room. She was just too damn perky and optimistic for seven in the morning. She understood that she was just trying to give her the best care possible, but Faith didn't even know how she was feeling half the time.

Faith laid back and stared at the pile of books Prue had brought her. She picked up the top book and opened it the first page.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Instead of heading straight to the hospital, Prue made a detour to the South Bay Social Services building. Failing to tell Faith that she is her mother allowed her the opportunity to have all her ducks in a row before telling her. To have a solid plan in place to give Faith some sense of stability. That first required her to visit with Laurel, who hopefully will be able to advise her on how to begin the process of getting Faith into her custody.

South Bay was bustling with workers, impatient parents, and scared children. Prue sat in the waiting area, her knee bouncing nervously, waiting for Laurel to arrive. One of the assistants, a nice young brunette who looked familiar, had informed her that she was due into the office at any moment, then escorted her to a chair outside her office. She kind of wished she had waited until later, because the wait was making her more nervous.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long before the lawyer came walking towards her. "Prue, I didn't expect to see you until I went to visit Faith."

"There's something I need to talk to you about. If that's alright?" Prue said nervously.

"Sure. I don't have to be in court for an hour," Laurel said as she unlocked her door. She held the door open for Prue, who passed her nervously. "Please sit. Tell me what I can do for you."

"Um…" Prue paused and cleared her throat. She felt like her stomach was trying to come out of her mouth. "Well you see…" She paused again, then groaned lightly at her on cowardice. "Faith is my daughter."

Laurel stopped unpacking her bag and looked to Prue in shock. "But I thought that Faith's parents were dead."

"Her adoptive parents are. I'm her biological mother," Prue said.

"Oh," Laurel said, and opened her desk to retrieve Faith's file. "There is no indication who Faith's biological parents are. Are you certain?"

Prue smiled softly. "I'm positive. I gave birth to a little girl the same day as Faith. My grandmother took my baby away without telling me where she was taking her. The church where she was left at isn't far from where we live. It is too much of a coincidence that the girl who was deposited on my couch, was born on the same day as my daughter.

"Okay. Very true. Not what I was expecting, but this is a good thing," Laurel said, and then she stood up. She went to her door and called for the young woman who had shown Prue where to sit. They quietly conversed for a few minutes, before Laurel return.

"Paige is going to get the paperwork started to establish maternity. Does Faith know about this?"

"I tried to tell her last night, but we were interrupted," Prue replied.

"Good. That's good. Let's not get her hopes up until we are one hundred percent positive that you are her mother. Then we can go from there. I have a hearing at ten to transfer Faith's custody to South Bay. Once maternity is established, we will have to file a motion to legally recognize you as her birth mother. Then it is as simple as having a social worker do a home study to make sure your home is safe, and us granting you custody. Should take a few weeks to push everything through. I've already spoken with the judge presiding over Faith's case, and she has assured me that Faith's release will be honored as long as Faith passes a psych evaluation, provided we have a suitable home for her to go to."

"You make it sound so easy," Prue spoke. She had been gearing up for a long exhausting process.

"Oh, trust me, it isn't. There is a lot of work that is involved, and normally it would take months for this process to be completed. Personally, I like Faith, and after the life she's been through, she deserves to have a stable life. Plus, Darryl has sung your praise. I trust that man with my life, and if he says you're one of the good guys, that's good enough for me."

"So, what's first?" Prue asked.

"First thing we have to do is get a DNA test done. If it comes back positive, then we can file the paperwork to officially establish you as her mother. Then we can start the process to get Faith's custody returned to you."

"Thank you," Prue said feeling elated. She had been worried that there was no chance of legally getting Faith back because Grams had left her at the church. Sure, she knew it was unlikely that she would be punished for the acts of her grandmother, but rationality had left her brain when she realized the girl lying on her couch was really her daughter. Now everything was full of possibilities that might not come to pass. She had to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. "Thank you so much for helping."

"I am happy to help. To be honest, it's a nice change of circumstances for once. I spend most of my time removing kids from neglectful and abusive parents, it's rare that I get the chance to reunite a kid with her mom."

"It is nice. I never thought I would get to see her again. Grams took her so fast, and when I would ask where she was, Grams would just tell me that she was safe."

"You can't dwell on that. If Faith is your daughter, then you have a chance to make her life better. Whatever your grandmother's reasons were don't matter anymore. Just you and Faith matter."

"You're right," Prue said and then looked at her watch. "I should go. I want to see Faith before I head to work. Thank you again."

"You're welcome. I'll call you after the hearing, and we can set up a time with the hospital to do the DNA test."

"Okay," Prue said with a nod. She shook Laurel's hand and then left, passing Paige, the assistant who had helped her, as she made her way through the building.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith was asleep with a book lying open on her chest when Prue entered her room. She looked so peaceful that Prue didn't want to disturb her. She turned to leave when she heard Faith softly say her name. She turned back to find Faith staring at her intensely. "Good morning," she said.

"Hey," Faith said. She sat up and laid the book back on her table. She gently pushed her table to the side, making room for Prue on her bed. Prue didn't sit on the bed this time however. Instead she sat on the chair in the corner. An awkward silence fell between them, making Faith incredible uncomfortable. "What, no presents today?" She joked, hoping it would get Prue to say something.

"Well you can blame your nurses for the lack of presents. I brought you donuts and a hot chocolate, but they banned it from the room. Apparently, you might need to have surgery this afternoon, so I left it with them."

"Damn, and here I was dreaming about eating some donuts."

Prue smiled widely. It was nice to see Faith looking a little more at ease then she had since they met. She looked better from where she was sitting. There was color in her face behind all the fading bruises and cuts. "How are you feeling?"

Faith's smile faltered. For a split second she had forgotten why she was in a hospital room. For a split second she was just a girl joking around with her mother, and in that split second, she had felt at ease. She wondered if she would ever feel normal again.

"I feel better," she answered honestly. "Ready to get out of here."

"Are you finally accepting that you are not going back to the hospital?" Prue asked hopeful.

Faith leaned forward a glared at Prue. "I don't belong in that place. I belong in jail with the rest of the animals."

Prue worried why Faith was back to wanting to be locked up again, she didn't flinch away at Faith's harsh words and aggressive attitude. Instead she leaned closer to her so that their faces were mere inches away. She locked eyes with her daughter and with conviction said, "You are not an animal."

Those words made a fire erupt in Faith's chest. "You don't know me," she growled. She didn't know why she was suddenly so angry, but it was there, and it needed to come out. "Do you want to know how I killed the professor? Wilkins had given me this sweet ass knife as a present for joining him, and when he ordered me to kill Worth I took it with me. Damn that blade felt good in my hand, and I was eager to use it. I took that knife and I slide it into the professor's body over and over and over again. His blood was every where, and fuck it felt amazing. So, tell me again I'm not an animal. Tell me!"

Prue swallowed the bile that had risen up her throat. She felt a little sick hearing Faith's description of killing the professor. She pushed it down however. "Animals don't want to be caged, even when they know they did something bad. They fight to get out." Prue touch Faith's cheek tenderly. "I see the good in you sweetie. All you have to do is see it too."

Faith batted Prue's hand away. "I ain't worth shit."

Prue placed her hand on Faith's cheek again, and when Faith tried to bat it away, she gently cupped it around her neck, brushing her thumb over her cheek. "Yes, you are, Faith. Yes, you are."

Prue's touch felt so good on her skin. Like it was always meant to comfort her while in distress. Unfortunately, her touch also made the anger burning in her chest more intense. Tears sprang to her eyes as the anger present in a different way. "Just leave me alone," she yelled.

"I can't do that Faith," Prue replied. She tried to wipe away Faith's tears, but that only made her angrier.

Faith batted the arm away again, this time with more aggression. "Why? Why won't you just let me alone?" Her tone had lost its edge, replaced with a more defeated note. "Why?"

"Because I'm your…" The word 'mother' got stuck in her throat. Laurel's voice rang in her ears, reminding her why she wasn't going to tell Faith today. Giving Faith false hope was the last thing she wanted to do. Though, if she was being honest with herself, it wasn't the only reason the word got stuck. There was a part of her that was scared to be rejected by Faith. What if Faith wanted nothing to do with her?

Faith sat forward again and growled into Prue's face. "Just say it damn. Fucking A, just say it." She suddenly deflated, realizing why she was upset. She was having a panic attack that was presenting as anger. This was not uncommon for her. Her therapist at Atascadero had helped her identify the differences in her moods. It helped her calm down when she was starting to lose control. "Just say it," she repeated almost pleadingly. She just needed to hear the words slip from Prue's lips. To hear the truth.

"I won't leave you alone Faith because I'm your mother," Prue said. Faith had relaxed, giving Prue an opening to cup her cheek again. Faith flinched away at first but relaxed into the touch. "You have good in you, and I will be damned if I am going to let my daughter rot away in a mental hospital for crimes she committed while she was mentally unstable."

Faith didn't know how to respond. Her chest still burned with residual anger, constricting her breathing. Tears still seeped from her beautiful eyes, slipping down her cheeks. She didn't know if she was relieved to hear Prue admit that she is her mother, or terrified that there was a new person in her life for her to screw up.

She didn't have the chance to contemplate her feelings because a woman cleared her throat loudly behind them. She hastily wiped her eyes, refusing to allow somebody else to see her like that. She hated when people could see how weak she is.

"Sorry to interrupt," the woman said.

Faith, happy that all evidence of her tears were gone, looked to the door. The woman was standing there, with the female guard assigned to her room hovering just behind her. She looked as though she wanted to come into the room, but the doctor was blocking her way.

The doctor looked over her shoulder and mutter, "We're good," to her, and then came into the room, closing the door behind her. "I'm Doctor Andrews," she said. "I was expecting this to be a standard evaluation, but it looks like there might be a few things we should discuss."

"Standard works for me," Faith said.

"Alright. I can do standard for now," Doctor Andrews agreed.

Prue looked to the doctor uncomfortably. "I should go. I have a photoshoot in half an hour."

"Yeah, okay," Faith said.

"I'll be back tonight. Phoebe is planning on coming. She'll probably show up before I get back. I'll call ahead and see if you can eat. If you can, I'll pick up whatever you want."

"Sup to you. I'm not picky," Faith replied.

"Okay. I'll be back tonight," Prue said. She resisted the urge to lean forward and place a kiss on Faith's forehead, an act that she had done many times to her sister. Instead, she slipped from the bed, and brushed passed the doctor.

Doctor Andrews sat in the corner chair and opened the file she was holding. "How are you feeling today, Paulina?"

"It's Faith."

"Oh. Right. I'm sorry," Doctor Andrews fumbled. "I did read that you prefer your middle name."

"What else did you read?" Faith asked curiously. She had always wondered what her doctors were saying about her. It had bugged her that they were saying writing things about her without giving her the chance to rebut.

"Would you like to read your file?" Doctor Andrews asked.

Faith looked up from the file surprised. "Hell yeah."

"Then I'll make a deal with you. If you answer all my questions honestly today, I will make a copy of the file for you to read."

"Really? Ya ain't fuckin' with me?"

"No. I promise, I'm not fucking with you, Faith."

"Deal," Faith said.

Doctor Andrews smiled, "Good. She wrote something on in the file before looking back to Faith. "So, all I am doing today is assessing your mental health for the judge and deciding what dosage of your meds to start you on. It'll also give us a good starting point for future sessions. Sound good."

"Whatever you want doc," Faith replied.

"So… Just for the record, you were diagnosed with severe bipolar 1 disorder, with psychosis."

"That's what they tell me," Faith said.

"And you were in the middle of a psychotic break when you were arrested?"

"That's what they tell me," Faith repeated.

"You don't believe them?" Doctor Andrews asked.

Faith was already getting irritated with this session. "I didn't say that."

"How long after you left the hospital did you stop taking your medicine?"

"The same day," Faith replied.

"Why?"

"Because my fake uncles refused to give 'em to me."

"Had they offered them, would you have continued to take them."

Faith paused for a moment. She had not been expecting a question like that and had to think about it. "Yeah," she replied hesitantly.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Give me a reason why you would have continued taking your meds?" Doctor Andrews elaborated.

"Oh. I… um…" Faith said unsurely. She thought back to how she felt while she was in Sunnydale, and then to her time in the hospital. While she had only been on her meds for a few months, Faith had already been able to tell the vast difference between pre-meds and post-meds.

Before the medicine everything was in hyper-drive for her. It was like she was going through the motions of her life, only she had no control. She was saying and doing things without knowledge of what she was doing or why. She was always in this hyper state, eager to do things she loved, but then she would crash and become so sad she couldn't do anything.

There was a month around her fifteenth birthday where she had fell into a deep depression, not that she knew what it was at the time however. She just felt so damn sad because it was her birthday and she was alone again. There was no one happy that she was alive and in their life. So, she drowned her sorrows in a bottle of rum she swiped from the Bronze.

When she finally did sober up again her emotions only got worse. She was angry that she had drown her sorrows over something so pathetic. She was Faith 'freakin' Lehane. She was a badass slayer who didn't need anybody. Still, she couldn't shake the sad feeling filling her chest like a bad cold, and it only got worse as time went on. Stupid little things that shouldn't bother her were like a knife stabbing her in the back. She was especially upset that nobody came to check on her, not that she wanted them to, (at least that is what she told herself).

Then one day she woke up and she was fine. Better than fine in fact. She woke up with a month's worth of energy stored in her cells, not a care in the world, and a destiny to fulfill. It didn't take long for her erratic, almost suicidal behavior to crash in on her. She was so blinded by being the best slayer, and finally having somebody there that was on the same level as her, that she couldn't sense that Finch was human before she staked him like a vampire.

Killing Finch intensified her already erratic feelings. She was in a battle with herself. Her heart was rapidly sinking with sadness and guilt, while her head kept telling her that she did nothing wrong. That she didn't give a damn if a man was dead because she was the best, badass slayer in town. Nothing could touch her.

After the medicine began working she began to see things differently. It was like there had been a fog laden over her mind that prevented her from being able to see just how crazy and erratic her behavior had become, and the meds helped to lift that fog. She didn't remember everything she had done or why she had done them, but there were events that were engraved in her mind. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to trust whether those memories were entirely true, or a figment of her disorder. The way she thought and felt had been altered by the intensity of her bipolar. Something that had been little at the time, she remembered as being the end of the world (figuratively speaking).

The fog that kept her mind fuzzy was gone because of her medicine, and for that she was incredibly grateful. It was like she could just be her without all the crazy getting in the way. Sure, she was still a foul mouthed, biting nails tough, badass bitch, but her actions were her own. She didn't want to go back to feeling foggy and insane again.

"Yeah. I would have kept taking them," she repeated, forgetting that she was meant to answer a different question.

"Where'd you go just now?" Doctor Andrews asked.

"Nowhere," Faith replied.

Doctor Andrews looked like she wanted to press, but she moved on with her questioning, which seemed to take forever. By the time she was done, Faith had a headache. She was grateful when the woman left, allowing her a chance to take a nap. She couldn't seem to stay awake for very long before needing to close her eyes; a vast difference from the past few months, where she was barely able to close her eyes for more than a few minutes at a time.


	5. Parentage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Sorry for any mistakes I've missed. I swear I've edited it.

Chapter 5: Parentage

Faith laid in her bed savoring the silence. You would think that one would be able to rest while staying in the hospital, but there so many people coming in and out of her room, that rest had become scarce. After the psych resident left, two surgical interns showed up to take her for another CT. They had just returned her to her room an hour later, when Prue called. She didn't stay on the line for long, but by the time she hung up her perky blonde doctor had rolled back into her room.

Doctor Robbins didn't say a word to her. She just smiled widely as she placed two small cups on her table, and then stood there waiting to see what she would do with the pills resting inside. Faith recognized the pills as the ones she took in Atascadero. She found it creepy how she was silently standing there, smiling as she waited to see how she would respond. Faith picked up the cup with the pills and tossed them back before picking up the second cup to wash them down.

Faith set the cup down with a soft click and then smile at Doctor Robbins. "Did I pass?"

Arizona's smiled widened, "Yes you did."

"Does this mean I can get out of here?"

"Not just yet. The infection in your arm is still spreading. We're going to try another antibiotic, if it starts working than first thing in the morning you are being transfer upstairs to the psych floor until your social worker can arrange better accommodations for you. If the antibiotics don't start working, I'm going to have to open up the wound and clear out as much off the infection as I can. I'd like to avoid that if we can."

Arizona didn't wait around to see Faith's reaction; a gift Faith was thankful for. The last thing Faith needed was this doctor seeing a spot of true emotions from her. Truth was, Faith wasn't sure if she happy, sad, or scared at the prospects of being released into the world again. The last time she was left to her own devices it didn't end well.

Faith wasn't given much time to contemplate how she was feeling before the interns returned again to take her for x-rays. The line for the x-ray machine was backed up all the way around the corner, forcing her endure the interns' idle chit-chat. For a moment she envisioned slamming their heads together just to make them stop, but only for a moment. She fought the images away and made a mental note to tell Doctor Andrews about the vision. She had been off her meds for so long there was a possibility it was more than just an idle image.

She had just gotten settled back into her bed when two detectives entered her room. She remembered the brunette from the night before. Detective Olivia Benson introduced her partner Amanda Rollins, before asking how she was feeling.

Faith didn't enjoy explaining what her life was like while in the custody of Dan and Tony. She told them everything there was to tell, despite knowing full well that there was no hope of them ever being brought to justice. Dan and Tony were safe in the Council's grasps.

Still, Olivia was nice and comforting in an almost uncomfortable way. She looked at her the same way Prue did, like she honestly cared about her well-being. Wilkens looked at her like that too. It made everything confusing for her. She knew in a sick sort of way, he did care for her, but she also knew that he played on her emotional instability to further his end-game. It deepened her already rocky trust issues.

The detectives stayed longer than Faith would have liked, recording every detail she could remember. She thought about lying and just painting them a vague picture of her time in her personal prison, but there was a part of her that was hoping they would be able to capture Dan and Tony. A bigger part than she was willing to admit.

To say she had a busy day would be an understatement, but she was just glad to have a few minutes of quiet time. She knew the nurses would be coming into her room at any moment to change the dressing on her wounds. She groaned internally when she saw somebody outside her door a few short minutes after the detectives left. It was only when the woman stepped through the doors that she stopped.

She smiled gently as Phoebe happily strolled into the room. If she had to be bothered by somebody, she was glad it was Phoebe. Although Phoebe looked at her with the same look in Prue's eyes, but there was also a faint look of caution there as well. It meant that while she cared about her, she was also smart enough to keep her guard up around her. That was something that comforted her.

"I brought food," she said happily, as she held a brown bag next to her head. "Prue called and said she would be a little late and asked if I would pick food up on my way."

"I guess that makes you my favorite aunt," Faith said even, not even realizing how casually she said that.

Thankfully Prue had filled her in on the 'mom bomb drop' when she asked her to pick Faith up some food, or that comment might have shocked her. "Well in Piper's defense, she not here to fight me for the title of best auntie."

Faith accepted the offered hamburger as she asked, "Where is she?"

"No clue," Phoebe growled. "Her boyfriend, Leo, is a whitelighter… like a guardian angel for witches, and orbed my sister off into the heavens almost a week ago. We haven't heard a peep out of her since."

"Orbed?"

"It's a type of teleportation," Phoebe answered. She handed Faith another burger and a cup of French fries, and then sat down in the arm chair that was now next to the bed.

"Like what I did?" Faith asked around a mouthful of hamburger. She shoved a bunch of fries into her mouth before she had properly chewed her hamburger.

Phoebe chuckled, and stood again. She moved Faith's drink from behind her food to in front of it. "Chew Faith. There are two more burgers in there for you and another cup of fries."

Faith grabbed the soda and took a few sips. "Sorry," she said. Slowly this time, she took a small bite and fully chewed before she swallowed. "So. He can teleport like me?"

"No. It's more like he turns into little blue orbs," Phoebe explained. She looked at her burger and hesitantly said, "What you did is called blinking."

Faith could hear the hesitation in her voice. She put her burger on the table, and asked, "Why do you sound like I'm going to die?"

"You're not," Phoebe snorted. "You are very observant though."

"I am," Faith stated. "Answer me."

"Blinking is a warlock's power," Phoebe answered.

Faith scrunched her face in confusion. She had met a few warlocks when she lived with her watcher Diana. They seemed like decent guys to her. Although she couldn't recall any of them being able to blink. "So, I was supposed to be born with a penis?"

Phoebe looked at Faith with a mixture of shock, confusion, and amusement. "What does a person's sex have anything to do with being a warlock?"

"Cause a warlock is just a male witch," Faith said. "Hence the need of a penis."

Phoebe's jaw dropped slightly. "Um… No. Warlocks are like witches, but evil. Very evil."

"Who's evil?" Doctor Robbins asked from the door way.

Phoebe jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Me apparently," Faith said evenly.

"Well I don't believe that for a second."

Faith turned her head and growled lightly, "Tell that to the men I killed."

Arizona went to the left side of Faith's bed and laid her medical file on Faith's table. She gently took Faith's hand. "I've read your file Faith. You are no more evil than I am. You had a psychotic break and when you regained your marbles, you felt terrible about what you did. There are pages of notes about it."

Faith snorted, "You're one of a kind doc. Haven't ever had a doc refer to my recovery as regaining my marbles."

"It worked though, right? Got a smile out of you," Arizona smiled. "Look kid. It's real simple, you can't be evil and feel remorse at the same time. It's just not how it works, and I can see it in your eyes. I hope that you'll be able to forgive yourself one day. In the mean time, I have something for you. Doctor Andrews dropped this off. It's a completed copy of all your records." She pointed to the file she set of Faith's table.

"I didn't think she would actually go through with it," Faith said. "Figured she was just saying what I wanted to hear like everyone else."

"Doctor Andrews knows the best way to connect with a patient is to be honest with them," Arizona said. "So, I am on call tonight. If you need anything, and I mean anything at all, just have the nurses page me, and I'll come running."

"Promise?" Faith challenged.

"I promise," Arizona assured. She waved lightly to Phoebe as she left, stopping briefly at the door to talk to Faith's guard.

"She seems nice," Phoebe said.

"Yeah. She's five by five," Faith replied, and then picked her burger back up. They ate in silence, which Faith found uncomfortable. Surprisingly, Faith could only finish the first burger, and part of the cup of fries. She guessed it had to do with being starved for several months. Even her slayer stomach needed a few meals to bounce back.

For the first time all day, the silence was bothering her. It was like a dense cloud had wrapped around them and was refusing to let them go. It propelled her to open her mouth, just so the feeling would go away. "So… I'm part warlock then?"

"I suppose so," Phoebe said. She too had been feeling uncomfortable by the silence, and was grateful for Faith willingness to talk. "I don't know who your father is, but I do know that the only magical being who can blink is a warlock. We really don't know much about them."

"But they're evil," Faith stated.

Phoebe wished they would go back to the awkward silence. "Yeah, mostly. We did meet a good warlock once though. He was half human, and fought to defeat his warlock side. Was ordained as a Catholic Priest to do so."

"That's a hell of a way to kill your demons," Faith snorted. "Couldn't give up sex for the rest of my life, even if it did kill the demon in me."

"Don't let Prue hear that. Pretty sure you are way too young for that."

"I'll be seventeen soon," Faith reminded her.

"Oh yeah, but still. Listen. I've seen a lot of things the last two years. You can be whoever you want to be. You are part witch, which makes you part good. Plus, you're the daughter of a Charmed One, which means you have three bad ass witches who will make sure you stay on the side of good, and if you don't, then we'll find a way to vanquish your dark side, without hurting you."

"It's too late Phoebe," Faith said. "I'm not good. I did horrible things to good people. You and Prue should give up before I have a chance to fuck your lives up too."

Somebody scoffed from the doorway. They turned to find Prue leaning against the door with her arms crossed, and a small bag hanging from one hand. "You're my daughter Faith. I was forced to give you up once, I'll be damn if I give up on you now that I have you back. So, listen to your aunt. You aren't part anything. You are a Halliwell through and through, and in this family we keep our names." She smirked as Phoebe snorted.

"Geeze, I can't count the amount of time she said that," Phoebe said. She looked to Faith who was looking at the confused. "Our mom was killed by a demon when we were kids, so we grew up with just our grandmother. Grams would tell us all the time that if we decided to let a man put a ring on our finger, to forgo the tradition of being branded by him, because in this family we keep our name."

"She was married four times," Prue chuckled.

"And engaged…" She thought about it for a second. "Five… No, six. There was that mailman she almost married when I was in fourth grade."

"We found out a few years ago that she was not born a Halliwell at all, but changed her name when she married her first husband Allen, our mother's father. He died when Mom was a kid, and from what she would tell us, Grams loved him very much. I don't think her next three husbands knew that."

"Yeah. Probably a good thing, though. Ben was a dick, and Joe was a bit creepy, or was it Greg?"

"No. She didn't marry any of them," Prue said. "Ben was a dick, but he was just a boyfriend. Joe was a fiancé and was very creepy. Greg was creepier then Joe and wasn't a boyfriend at all. He was just the guy who delivered groceries for Grams after she had her first heart attack. He kind of hung around for a while."

"Yo Grams got some action," Faith laughed.

Phoebe looked at Faith in horror and raised her hand. "Nope. Don't wanna think about Grams like that. She can keep her action to herself."

"Me either," Prue groaned as she scrunched up her nose. "It was bad enough having to sit through the sex talk with her."

"You should probably have listened to her," Faith said no longer joking, instantly sobering the room.

Prue glared at Faith. "If I had than I wouldn't have you, and I'm starting to think I should talk to your doctor about putting you on suicide watch."

"Ain't like I can do anything here. Not with fifty people walking in and out of here all damn day long, and that nice guard at my door looking in here every five seconds," Faith snidely replied. She then tugged on her wrist. "Then there's this. Can't even stand up to take a damn piss by myself."

Prue crossed the room, tossing the bag on the end of Faith's bed as she went, and gently laid her hand on Faith's cheek. "You're not alone Faith. You have me and Phoebe, and your Aunt Piper… hopefully. You did something horrible, yes, but it doesn't have to define who you are. You have the chance to do better in the future. You have the chance to do good."

"And what if I'm not good?" Faith asked. "What if I'm just like my father? An evil warlock? Huh? What then?"

"Let's not go there. We don't even know if he was a warlock or not. I barely even remember him," Prue said.

Faith slumped back and fiddled with her fries.

"Look," Prue said, gaining Faith's attention. "I wasn't supposed to tell you this, at least not yet, but Laurel doesn't see any problems with you being placed into my custody. We have to do a DNA test to prove you are my kid, and then there's a home visit, but if all works out well, you can be home in a few weeks."

She reached for the bag she brought with her and handed it to Faith. "I got you something. I hope you like it."

Faith pulled out a small box out of the bag, and gently opened it. Resting inside was a silver triquetra, the same one that was on the front of the book of shadows, about a quarter in size on an adjustable chain. "It's our family's symbol." She looked to the door before quietly saying. "It's the symbol on the front of our Book of Shadows. Our family's spell book that has been passed down since the witch trials. It was started by our ancestor Melinda Warren, and she gave it to her daughter before she was burned at the stake."

"We got to meet Melinda once," Phoebe said. "We summoned her last year when Prue accidentally released a warlock she had imprisoned in a locket." She paused suddenly. "She's the one who taught us about blinking." She looked to Faith with an excited look on her face. "Not all warlocks can blink." She looked to Prue to see if she had realized what she did. "Not all warlocks can blink," she repeated to her.

"Yeah," Prue agreed, not understanding why Phoebe was suddenly so excited. "Tate was the first one who used that power, and Melinda was the one who explained it to us. She said that…" Prue's face lit up with joy. She turned to Faith and said, "She said that he must have copied it from a witch. Not all warlocks have the power because they have to steal it from a witch or have the power passed down from their parents."

Faith was looking back and forth between the two of them, unsure of what they were so happy about. "Yeah. Hence how I got my blinking power."

Phoebe smiled and laid her hand over Faith's cuffed wrist. "There is a chance that you got you power from a witch, not a warlock."

"Oh," Faith said.

"I don't remember much about your father. Only his name and a vague picture of him," Prue said.

"So, he could be a warlock?" Faith asked.

"Or he could be a witch," Phoebe insisted. "And even if he is a warlock, you are still half witch. A human witch. You have the potential to be good if you want to. All you have to do is choose it."

Faith looked down at the pendant. She ran her thumb over the silver and allowed herself a brief moment to picture herself wearing it, while standing next to her family. She closed the box and handed it back to Prue. "Keep it safe for me, will ya? Until I can come home."

Prue smiled as she took the box. "It'll be waiting in your room for you."

Phoebe and Prue stayed until visiting hours were over, sharing stories about their childhood, and some of their more memorable demon vanquishes. Faith found herself not only relaxing around them, but also enjoying their company. They made the guilt and self-loathing ease from her mind, and for just a few minutes, have hope that she could have a normal life. Well, as normal a life a slayer-witch could have.

When they were gone, she was left with a feeling of loneliness. It filled her chest with a sad, cold feeling, and invaded her dreams. In her dreams she was forced to watch herself kill Prue, Phoebe, and a faceless brunette who she assumed was her aunt Piper.

First, she watched from a third person view as she stabbed Prue in the heart with a stake, holding it there with a cold expression on her face as the life drained from Prue's eyes. She screamed and tried to run to Prue, to stop the evil version of herself, but the run to them seem endless.

Then the dream shifted to Phoebe. She was standing over the evil Faith in the bathroom of the Manor, tending lovingly to her wounds, when suddenly the evil Faith pulled a knife from out of nowhere and thrust it into Phoebe's gut. It was the knife Wilkens had given her. The same knife that Buffy and thrust into her own gut. Phoebe looked down at Faith with a surprised look on her face that bled into a look of betrayal.

The room shifted from the bathroom to the living room, where evil Faith was standing over the faceless brunette, with a sick smile on her face. The Book of Shadows was on open on the table, and there were candles spread out around the room. Clearly Evil Faith had used her new-found powers to cut the life from Piper.

Evil Faith turned to Faith with a grin on her lips. "I am who you are. You can fight me all you want, but I will always win. I will take every person from your life until all you have left is me."

The room faded to black, making it impossible for Faith to see anything. A chill ran up her spin as she felt a cold breath on the back of her neck. "Get used to the dark Faith, because this is your future."

Faith was jolted awake by somebody tapping her cheek. She gasped for air as she thrashed in her bed, the cuffs still linking her arm to the metal railing clinked loudly as it tore into bruised skin. It took her a few moments to grasp reality, and calm down. The dream left her with a feeling of dread. Her skin was covered in cold sweat, chilling her body to the core.

She looked around the room as she regained her bearings, the dream still very much in mind. There were several people bustling around her room. Malik, the male nurse from the night before was trying to hold her cuffed arm down, as a short blonde haired female resident was sticking a syringe into her IV. Another nurse, one she didn't recognize had been the one tapping her face. She was looking down at her with fear in her eyes, one of which had a fresh bruise underneath. Faith must have lashed out during her nightmare, and caught the poor woman's face.

Before Faith had the chance to calm down on her own, whatever the resident injected into her IV began working, easing her back into sleepless slumber. She didn't know how long she slept for but when she woke again the room was dark and only one person remained. Doctor Robbins was curled up in the chair under the TV, with a file in hand and a small book light illuminating the pages.

She tried to move, but both her arms and legs were tethered to the bed by soft restraints. The cuff that had been around her wrist now hung limp from the railing. She tugged at the restraints, not liking the feeling of being tied down, rattling the bed railing as she moved.

Doctor Robbins looked up at the sudden noise. She quickly stood, and tossed the file to the side. "It's okay Faith. Don't struggle, it'll only make you feel worse."

"Take them off," Faith pleaded weakly. "Please."

Arizona laid her hand on Faith's shoulder, causing her to flinch. "I'll take them off as soon as you calm down for me. Can you do that?"

She spoke so tenderly that Faith froze and looked up at her. She relaxed slightly and nodded her head.

"Alright," Arizona said, and then gently released Faith limbs from the restraints.

"What happened?" Faith asked. She brought her formerly cuffed arm up to inspect the bandages that hadn't been there before she feel asleep.

"You don't remember?" Arizona asked, as she retrieved Faith's file. She jotted something down before looking back to Faith. "You were having a nightmare. Half the floor was woken by your screams. You knocked one of the residents out and gave a nurse a black eye before they could wake. Doctor Reed gave you a sedative."

Faith closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Are they okay?"

"They'll be okay," said Arizona as she checked Faith's vitals. "What were you dreaming about?"

Faith adverted her eyes. "I don't know," she lied weakly.

Arizona knew she was lying but chose not to comment. She had a feeling Faith would talk when she was ready. "You cut your arm off the cuffs. In my medical opinion, it would be best to leave them off for the time being."

Faith looked up at Arizona gratefully. "Thanks," she said as she rubbed the sore arm.

"There's a few more hours before the sun rises. Why don't you try and get some sleep," she suggested.

"Yeah," Faith said quietly. She closed her eyes despite having no intention of sleeping. She waited until she heard Doctor Robbins leave, before opening them again. The horrible dream that had cause so much fuss played in her mind on a loop. The images of her new family being killed by her own hands sickened her.

The journal Prue had bought her laid on the night stand, a pen lying atop it. It called to her, begging for her to writing in it. The clean lined paper felt nice under her fingertips, and the pen felt right in her hand. The word flooded from her, filling up page after page. She allowed her dreams to be recorded alongside all the feeling she had been bottling up inside of her.

Before she realized it, the sun was flooding into her room. She had spent hours writing, not only about her dreams, but also what had happened to her since she arrived in Sunnydale. Every memory, every feeling, every hope and dream she had that eventual had been crushed. Once she had started, she couldn't stop. Her hand felt cramped from the unusual movement, a friendly reminder that even she had her limits.

Doctor Robbins stopped by to see how she was doing, and to let her know that she was being moved to the psych floor right after rounds. A feeling of dread crept into her chest when she heard this, and she found herself wishing she could just leave. To go hide somewhere she couldn't be found, and where she couldn't hurt anybody. She pulled the blanket Prue had brought her up to her chin, and for just a few minutes allowed herself to drift back to sleep.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Phoebe had every intention of going to bed when she returned home from closing the club. However, as she laid in bed she couldn't drag her mind away from the mystery of Faith's paternity. It was like a gnat that wouldn't leave her alone.

So, instead of sleeping, she crawled out of bed and made her way to the attic, where she found every scroll, book, and picture of witching families Grams had collected over the years. The collection was fairly extensive, leaving Phoebe sifting through it for hours. Thankfully she knew what she was looking for now. Prue had told her the name of Faith's father. Blake Landon.

Any reference to the Landon family, would confirm her hopes that Faith's father was a witch instead of a warlock. Unfortunately, as the sun rose, she had not found a single mention of the family, leaving a feeling of dread in her gut. She wanted to see Faith as just her niece. A beautiful young woman with a bright, happy future ahead of her. However, the unknown origins of her blinking power frightened her. She couldn't help but wonder if Faith would turn evil one day, leaving her sister heartbroken. She knew there was a darkness already in Faith, one that could easily be swayed if the power consumed her like her slayer abilities had already done.

Phoebe closed the book she just finished and tossed it aside in frustration. She reached for another book, accidentally knocking over a pile of pictures that where laying in front of it. She gasped loudly as she was sucked into a premonition.

"You mustn't little brother," a feminine voice frantically said.

A young man stood by a roaring fire place in an old Victorian house. He turned to look to his older sister. He was dressed in a pair of loose striped trousers, with suspenders over his white collared shirt. A glass full of amber liquid was held steadily in his left hand.

"I have no choice, Clara," he snarled. "They have hunted us into near extinction. All that remains of our family is standing here in this room."

The sister stepped forward into the light. She wore a simply blue skirt with her button up shirt untucked. Her long hair was wrapped into a bun on the top of her head. "We will survive brother. Just have a little faith."

"Faith?" He spat. "Faith in what? God? The ancestors? Surely, you dare not speak of those who came before us. They were weak, sister. Weak! They've allowed the warlocks to kill us off one by one, until all that remains is you and I."

"No Edgar. Have faith in our bond," Clara pleaded. "Together we can survive."

"I will not spend my life in the shadows," Edgar roared. "Hiding like a coward. Running like a common thief."

"This magic you speak of is dark. It will consume your soul and taint your children's birthright."

"At least I will have children to pass my magic to, Sister," he yelled. "A son to teach how to blink towards those who wish him dead, not from it."

"I cannot sit idly by as you corrupt our family's line," Clara demanded.

"Then leave, Sister. I no longer need your protection. The magic I seek will do that for me," Edgar said.

Phoebe was released from the premonition with another gasp. She took a moment to regain her bearings, before picking up the entire pile of pictures. She eagerly searched through the pile for the siblings she had seen in her vision. She yelled triumphantly when she found a black and white photo of them.

There was an inscription on the back, reveling their surname and a date.

Edgar and Clara Blake. 1853.

Phoebe nearly tripped as she dove for the pile of books she had already finished. She had already found a reference to the Blake family. She didn't think anything of it because she was searching for the surname Landon, not Blake.

She found the book she was searching for, and frantically flipped through the pages until she came to the page about the Blake family. She yelled triumphantly again, before running out the attic, down to Prue's room.

She bounced onto Prue's bed, and shook her sister awake. "Prue. I found it. I found it."

Prue jumped awake and looked up at Phoebe in shock. "I found it Prue."

"What?" she asked groggily.

"Proof that Faith isn't part warlock," She answered, and then handed the book to Prue. "I had a premonition about Edgar and Clara Blake. See, here they are," she said, and pointed the bottom of the second page. "There were the last witches with the ability to blink. Their once thriving family were hunted to near extinction by the warlocks for their coveted ability to move from one place to another in a blink of the eye."

"Blinking," Prue said offhandedly as she scoured the pages. "Edgar had two daughters, but no sons, and given that Clara was a woman, the Blake name died with him. It doesn't say what his daughters married names became, nor if Clara had any children. For all we know there was no one left to record the information Phoebe."

"You're right, but that's not the proof," Phoebe said, and then turned the page. "See here. Each member of the Blake line are born with an identical birthmark that looks like an eye, although the placement changes from person to person. Faith has an eye shaped birthmark."

Prue looked to Phoebe. "How do you know that?"

"I saw it last night when I helped her to the bathroom."

Prue looked down at the book as relief flooded her senses. She couldn't wait to tell Faith that she wasn't part warlock. "She's going to be so relieved."


	6. Court

Chapter 6: Court

Prue didn't get a chance to see Faith before she was transferred to the psych ward, much to her disappointment. She was hoping to tell Faith the good news, hopefully taking away some of the girl's worry. Instead, she had to wait for the next day to see the her.

The locked ward left Prue with a dilemma. Everything was closely monitored there, leaving her no way to sneak the book in to show Faith. Still, when Prue quietly told Faith about what Phoebe had found out, Faith seem relieved; happy even. Prue promised to show her the book just as soon as she was released.

Unfortunately, Faith was going to be stuck in the locked floor for a few weeks. She confessed to Prue that she was feeling antsy, fearing that the serum that muted her powers was beginning to wear off. At least at Atty there was a small gym that she could use to burn off any slayer energy she was building up. In the ward she was in, the most she could do was pace the three corridors she was stuck in, and do 'a shit tone push-ups'. Her words not Prue's.

It took a few days for the court order for the DNA test to come through, and a few days more for the results to come in. Prue visited every Tuesday and Thursday and on Saturday and Sunday during Faith allotted visiting hours. When the results finally did come in, Phoebe joined Prue as Laurel gave them the good news. Faith was indeed Prue's daughter.

Laurel went through the next steps of the process, although Faith didn't hear a word of it. The reality that she had a mother, a real mother who wanted her in her life was overwhelming. For the first time since she met Prue she allowed herself to imagine a life with her, without all the fears and doubts that usually plagued her. It was no longer a possibility, but a reality. She was going to have a family. She had people who cared about her, and who were fighting to have her in their life. She didn't have to keep the wall up any longer. She could just let herself be happy about it.

Of all the reactions Faith had imagined herself having when she heard the news, both good and bad, she never anticipated what she did. She stared at Prue with tears flooding happily from her eyes, laughter bubbling up from the depths of her soul. She was happy. True happiness that she hadn't experienced since her father and sister had been alive.

Prue and Phoebe turned to her in shock. Neither had heard such an innocent sound come from the stoic girl. Faith's happiness was infectious, quickly bring smiles to her mother and aunt. It was the most precious sound either had heard in their lives. The laughter of their kin.

"Well I guess you won't be fighting this anymore," Laurel commented with a smile, before excusing herself from the room, allowing the family to relish in their happiness.

That night, after writing everything that happened in her journal, Faith slept soundly, dreaming of what her life was going to be like once she was released from the hospital.

The next two weeks went by in a blur both for Faith and Prue. Prue and Phoebe visited Faith as much as their busy lives would allow. Each thanking the gods for the small break from their witching duties, although they knew it wouldn't last long. Piper still had yet to return, which only seemed to anger and worry both of the sisters. They were beginning to believe that they weren't going to get their sister back.

Phoebe had started school again, leaving Prue in charge of all the house hold duties. A fact that seemed to get lost in between visiting Faith, court dates, the mounds of paperwork she had to do to get Faith transferred into her custody, fixing up Faith's room, work, and researching The Triad. It wasn't until Laurel turned up at her home with a social worker, that she realized how thin she had spread herself.

The first thing the social worker noticed was the lack of heat in the house. The comment made her realize she had forgotten to pay the gas bill. She fumbled through an explanation, explaining that she and her sister hadn't been home much and they simply forgot to turn the heat up. The social worker seemed to accept her response, but still wrote something down on her clip board.

Prue showed them around the house, answering any question the woman asked along the way. She was exceptionally proud to show the women Faith's room, which she had finally finished a few days before hand. After the DNA results came back positive, she spoke to Faith about her room, and how she would like it. The room was small in comparison to her and her sisters, but it was still roomy. She couldn't wait to show it to her. The social worker seemed impressed when Prue told her she had done all the work herself, and avidly wrote something down.

On the way back downstairs, the woman noticed the stairway to the attic, and Prue had to shift her attention away. There was no way they could go up there, what with all the book on witches, demons, and the occult laying everywhere. She might get the wrong idea. Thankfully, the woman accepted Prue explanation of just being a storage dumping room.

All in all, the woman seemed happy with the tour, even telling Prue that she needn't worry about not be granted custody of Faith. Which took a load off Prue's shoulders. After that all she had to worry about was being there for the final custody hearing, which would officially recognize Prue as Faith's biological mother, and grant her permanent custody, provided the judge was going to honor Faith's release.

The night before the hearing, everything changed. The calm demon free life Prue and Phoebe had been enjoying ended in a dark alley behind a club. Darryl, who had been tracking a murder suspect believed to be in league with a demon, nearly became a victim of the very man he was tracking. As it turned out, the man he was tracking wasn't a man at all, nor was he in league with a demon. He was a demon.

As the sisters cautiously entered the alley, they could hear breathing from around the corner. Without thinking they run towards the sound, Prue waving her hand at the first sight of the demon hovering over Darryl's unconscious body with an athame in his hand.

The demon, who Darryl had described as a white, bald man, was indeed bald, however his skin was far from white. The majority of his skin was dark green, with black tiger strip markings covering his face, head, and exposed arms.

The demon went flying through the air, landing a few feet from the club door. He rose from the ground weightlessly, as though somebody had picked him up, with a growl. Phoebe didn't hesitate to pick up the fallen athame and charge toward the large demon. Before he had a chance to react to the petite woman heading his way, she had already landed a powerful kick to his right knee, causing him to buckle to the ground. She went to kick him in the head, but she jumped, she suddenly found herself being held six feet above the ground by an invisible force.

"An active power," she whispered to herself, just before she fell to the ground in a heap.

When she looked up, the athame that she had dropped when she was rising to the sky, was flying through the air towards the demon. It found a home in between the demon's eyes. The life left his eyes a split second before he burst into flames, taking the athame with him.

Both sister turned to Darryl, who was groggily trying to stand. "Is it gone?" he asked, when he was upright.

"Yeah. It's dead," Prue said, as she wrapped her arm around his waist to steady him. "I think we should get you to the hospital."

Darryl looked down at her with a look of relief. "Yeah. Probably a good idea."

"Come on, our car is out front," Prue said.

As they slowly made their way out of the alley, a tall male figure came out of the shadows. "Well that wasn't how I expected it to go," he said to seemingly nobody. The man turned around and slunk back into the shadows.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

A few hours later, after taking Darryl home from the hospital with strict instructs for Sheila to keep him awake for twenty-four hours, they arrived home with just enough time to shower and get ready for the custody hearing.

Laurel promised that both the custody hearing and Faith's release hearing were formalities. However, that assurance didn't make Prue's stomach feel any better. She was still nervous that things would change. Given the crazy unpredictable life she lived, it was easy to understand.

Phoebe headed to class early to get the day's assignments, that way she could be there for Prue. A gesture that she greatly appreciated. They had hoped Faith would be allowed to accompany them, but until the judge ordered her release she was stuck in the psych ward.

The custody hearing went smoothly, just as Laurel promised. Basically, all they were doing was officially declaring that Prue was Faith's biological mother and legal guardian, thus transferring custodial rights from the state of California to Prue, giving her control over all future discussions regarding Faith.

With custody officially transferred to Prue, the tension she had been feeling lessened, allowing the hope that she had been forcing to the back of her mind to roam free. The three women went across the street to a small diner where they had lunch, and discussed how Faith's release hearing would go.

Since the presiding judge over Faith original conviction was in Los Angeles, they would be video conferencing between the new judge, the prosecutor, and them. She again assured them that it was all a formality, and Faith would be home within the week.

The conference room where they would be conducting the hearing was large windowless, with an oval table in the middle. It was brightly lit, despite the lack of windows. There were two large televisions hanging from separate stands, and a video camera sitting at the edge of the table in front of them. There were three chairs ready to go within the camera's view. One for Prue, one for Laurel, and one for Faith's doctor.

Prue sat nervously next to Laurel waiting for the hearing to begin. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long before the screens across from them changed from the blue screen to reflect the judge and prosecutor.

Judge Amy Gray, a thin white woman with curly brown hair, began, "I was shocked when this case crossed my desk, and even more troubled as I read over why. Angered even. A gross neglect from the prosecutor's office is a shy way of putting it, as well as the original judge."

"I agree your honor," said Ronald Carver, a tall black man with glasses resting on his nose, and a handsome mustache covering his upper lip. "ADA Smith has been fired, and our office is conducting a full investigation into all of his cases."

"I'd expected no less," Judge Gray said. "I hope that you will keep me apprised of the investigation."

"Certainly, your honor," Ron replied.

Amy nodded her head and then looked down. "Ms. Halliwell," she said and then looked up. "Congratulations. I don't think I've ever seen a custody case go through the courts as quickly or smoothly as yours did. Although, I do hope you understand the need for me to be thorough here."

"I do your honor," Prue replied.

"Good. Then you won't mind answering a few questions?"

"Whatever you need to know, I'd be more than happy to answer," Prue assured her.

"Good. Let's start with what you do for a living," Amy said.

"I'm a photographer with the 401 magazine," Prue answered.

"What is your schedule like?"

"My schedule changes from day to day, depending on who my subject is. Typically I work during the day at 405 magazine or on location, but I prefer to develop my photographs at home."

"So, you have the time to keep watch over your mentally ill daughter. Make sure that she isn't slipping into the darkness again."

"I have plenty of time to spend with Faith, and if I can't be there for her, I have two sisters who will doing anything for her."

"Are these sisters with you today?" Judge Gray asked.

"My youngest sister Phoebe is," Prue answered.

"I'd like to see her," Amy replied.

Phoebe moved forward towards her sister and gave the judge a little wave.

"Hello. I'd like to know what your day is like," Amy said.

"I'm a student at UC San Francisco by day, and I help take care of our sister's club by night," Phoebe replied.

"Club?"

"P3, your honor," Phoebe replied. "Our sister Piper is on vacation with her boyfriend. We've been taking care of the club in her absence."

"And you are willing to take responsibility of Faith in your sister's absence?"

"You bet ya," Phoebe said. "I'd do anything to keep my niece safe."

"Good to know," Amy said, and then looked down at her desk again. When she looked up again Phoebe was seated. "Doctor Trade, what is your impressions of Faith and her recovery?

Doctor Trade, who was a tanned woman, with her jet black hair pulled up into a ponytail, leaned forward and said, "I think she is doing remarkably well considering the abuse she endured during her absence, especially considering she was off her meds for all that time."

"Is she exhibiting any dangerous behavior?" Amy asked.

"She's restless, but finds calming activities to keep her mind as calm as possible. She kind and polite to the nursing staff, although she does have a foul mouth at times," Doctor Trade chuckled. "If you didn't know her past, you'd think she was just a normal sixteen-year-old."

"What kind of activities does she like to do?" Amy asked.

"I've been told that she writes in a journal nearly all day, and she likes to read."

"Do you have any concerns regarding Faith?"

"Only one," Doctor Trade said. "Faith has violent nightmares. She thrashes, occasionally hitting a nurse as they attempt to wake her. Often times, she has to be sedated before she calms again. She is always remorseful when she see's what she's done, but the damage is still there."

"We can handle nightmares," Prue said quickly.

"I'm sure you believe that you can, but she can become violent before she is fully awake," Doctor Trade said.

"And perhaps being home with her family can help that," Prue suggested.

"Perhaps, but there are no guarantees when it come to someone like Faith," Doctor Trade.

"There are no guarantees with any of us. Tonight, I could have a nightmare, that causes me to thrash around. You just don't know."

"You're right," Judge Gray interrupted, pulling their attention back to her. "I've heard enough. I'm ready to make my ruling."

Prue sat on the edge of her seat, nervously watching the judge as she jolted a few things down, before looking back up at them. "I am releasing Faith into the custody of her mother Prudence Halliwell, under the following conditions. One, Faith must continue her medication regimen as ordered by her doctor. No exceptions. Two, Faith must visit with her therapist every week. No exceptions. The court will give you a grace period of four weeks to find a therapist Faith is comfortable with in San Francisco. Three, Faith is to restart school. Given her violent history, lets keep it homeschooling for now, then we can revisit the option of public or private school, at a later date. Four, I will require monthly reports from her doctors, Ms. Halliwell, and a monthly home visit from social services, on Faith's progress. And lastly, Faith is to keep a squeaky-clean record. No recreational drug use, no arrests, no nothing. In six months we will revisit Faith's case and go from there. Are there any objections?"

A round of no's, sounded through the room.

"Good. Ms. Halliwell," Judge Gray addressed. "Please inform your daughter of how lucky she is to have so many people in her corner. Tell her not to screw this up, or she find herself back in the hospital."

"I will your honor," Prue said. "Thank you."

"Your welcome," Amy said. "Court adjourned. Have a nice day people."

The screens went blank before turning blue again, and Prue let out an audible sigh of relief. Phoebe came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her big sister. "You did it. Faith's going to be so happy."

Prue wrapped her arms around Phoebe's. "I can't wait to tell her."

Phoebe turned to the doctor and asked, "When can we take her home?"

"Tomorrow at the earliest," she replied. "Once the court order for her release is sent to the hospital, we can start the process for her release on our end."

"Thank you," Prue said. She stood up and offered her hand to the doctor. "I appreciate everything you and your staff have done for my daughter."

Doctor Trade took the hand. "We were just doing our job."

"Still, thank you."

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith was nervous. More nervous than she had ever felt in her life. Three weeks stuck in the psych ward gave her plenty of time to think about what she wanted. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to live with Prue and her sisters. Prue had proven that she wasn't going to abandon her simply by showing up to every visiting day and calling her every night. Prue wanted to be her mother, and Faith wanted that more than anything.

She was sitting by the phone waiting for the call telling her she was getting to go home. Her knee was bouncing, while her fingers nervously tapped the table top. She jumped when one of the nurses yelled her name, and pointed at the phone. Faith swore that her heart stopped beating as she waited for the phone to ring.

Prue's voice instantly relaxed her. It was cheerful, which only meant on thing, she was going home. Prue explained what the judge had said, and that all they had to do was wait to the hospital to process her release. They went over the conditions of her release. Well, Prue told her the conditions of her release in her best mom voice. Clarifying that it wasn't just the judge's orders, but hers as well. Faith didn't care. She was just happy to be going home that she would do whatever they wanted.

They talked until Faith had to leave for what was hopefully her last group session. She tried to follow along with what the councilors were saying, but all she could think about was leaving that place. Visions of her new life flooded her mind. They were as real as a television screen sitting in front of her.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Prue treated Laurel to dinner at Quake that night, as a small token of her gratitude. She wished she could adequately tell the woman how grateful she was, but each time she opened her mouth to do so she began babbling. She thought a dinner would do what she couldn't say.

Laurel seemed amused by her babbling but understood what she was attempting to say. It was nice to be able to reunite a mother with her daughter. It was a nice change, given she was usually taking neglected and abused children from the only family they know. Yes, she was saving them a horrible life, but their stories weren't all bunnies and unicorns afterwards. She worked in a field that rarely saw happy endings.

She enjoyed Prue's company. She was smart and funny and was endlessly devoted to her family. A quality she admired. She was happy that she could help Prue and Faith, but she was even happier that she had gained a friend in the process. She could see what Darryl had meant when he called the Halliwell's special people.

After dinner, Prue headed to the club. With everything that had been going on, the club's upkeep had slipped slightly. Piper was going to kill her when she finally decided to return. Which she hoped was soon, because she missed her little sister immensely.

The club was fairly empty, which wasn't a surprise. They really ought to close the club on Mondays. There just wasn't enough clientele to justify leaving the club open. She would talk to Piper if the woman ever returned.

Phoebe showed up a little past nine, allowing Prue the chance to return home. There was a special project she was working on for Faith and Phoebe, and there were still a few things she had to finish before her daughter came home.

She worked until she heard Phoebe come home, and then snuck up the basement stairs before Phoebe could reach the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Phoebe looked tired, more so than normal. Although she should expect that. In addition to their sleepless, demon fighting night, Phoebe had been pulling triple duty all week to get things ready for Faith. Mostly, by taking care of the club and going to school, but also searching for a wiccan way to contact Piper.

"I'm going to search for the demon we vanquished last night," Phoebe said, as she grabbed her water.

"Why don't you sleep Phoebe. The demon can wait until tomorrow," Prue suggested.

"Unless it's buddies decide to attack," Phoebe said.

"That's assuming it has buddies," Prue said. "Sleep. Tomorrow I'll search for the demon while I wait for Faith to be released."

"Fine," Phoebe said. "But only because I'm exhausted. Faith isn't even home yet, and she's already change the entire dynamic of our lives."

"It's a big difference," Prue agreed. "Wait until Piper finally comes home. She's going to be so shocked."

"God, I hope I'm there to see her reaction," Phoebe said.

"Me too," Prue said, and then wrapped her arm around Phoebe's shoulders. "Come on baby sis, Let's get you to bed before I have to levitate your sleeping body up the steps. I might accidentally hit your head off the wall and give you a concussion."

"That would be bad," Phoebe whined lightly as she rubbed her head.

Prue chuckled, "Yes it would be."


	7. Released

The sun had yet to peak above the mountain when Faith woke the next morning. Her room was still dark, sans the small strip of light coming from cracked door, and the dim street lights from floors below her. She knew she had hours until the nurses would come wake her for breakfast. She thought about surprising them by already being up and around when the shift changed at six, but she was enjoying the sounds of quiet hospital.

The snores of her roommate, an older woman who had slept most of the three weeks Faith had been locked in the psych ward, seemed louder to her. She could hear the soft squeaks of one of the night nurses shoes, and the soft tones coming from the nurse's station four rooms away.

Her powers were returning, just as she was about to be released. She didn't know if she was excited by the prospect or terrified. No matter what she did or said, she would never be able to deny the fact that she loved slaying and was eager to get back out there. Maybe it was just a part of being a slayer, or it was just because she was like them. A soulless killer. She loved the thrill of the hunt, and even more when she finally staked her prey.

Faith rolled over to face the wall of windows. The sun was just beginning to light the sky, allowing her to see the mountain outside. It was the only decent view they had in the place, not that she shared it with anybody but her sleeping roommate. She longed to be outside, climbing up the steep ground, searching for any baddies that might be hiding in the hills. Hell, she longed to just get out of the sterile environment of the hospital.

She rolled back over and stared at the ceiling. In a matter of days, she was going to be at her new home, with her new family, and she knew her life was going to be different. Better. She was sure of it. Prue was kind to her. She was engaging, and actually cared about what she was doing and what she had to say. It was so different from the lifetime of only being wanted if she was giving them something they wanted.

It had happened over and over again. First with the foster families she was placed with. Half of them only fostered for the money, and the other half did it for their own personal gain. Then the kids on the street only kept her around because of her small size. She was able to steal all kinds of food for them. Once she hit puberty and practically grew to adult size overnight, she stopped being useful to them. They bailed on her before she understood what was happening. Diana had been nice to her. She had been the closest thing to a real family, but even she had her motives for keeping her. She was a potential, and it Diana's job to prepare Faith for that duty.

Then there was the Sunnydale gang. They all had their reasons for being nice to her. Buffy being the worst of all, although she didn't know it yet. Maybe one day she would figure out that she was only using Faith to allow the slayer out. She used Faith as an excuse to enjoy the hunt and the kill. To fully enjoy what being the slayer meant.

Maybe one day Buffy would would realize that she wasn't an innocent party in their complicated story, and will be open to making amends. Faith wasn't holding her breath for it. She had to move past everything that happened. She had to accept what happened, and boxed it away. Well, at least that's what her therapist kept telling her.

Faith rolled out of the tall bed, unable to lay there any longer. There was still time before breakfast, so she grabbed a clean t-shirt and sweats, and headed to the showers, making a pit-stop at the back-nursing station to get her shower box. The nurse there filled two condiment cups, the kind you use for ketchup at fast food restaurants, full of shampoo and body wash, then made her sit for her morning blood presser. Twice a day Faith was forced to get her blood pressure and temperature taken. She found it annoying but did it anyways.

After her shower, where she wished for what felt the hundredth time that she had short hair, she grabbed her journal and slipped into the small conference room across from the nurses station. It held the only phone patients were permitted to use. The room was often quiet, sans for the hilarious phone calls she overheard, and the quiet conversations she had with a few of the other patients who sat with her. They talked as they colored in their adult style coloring books, or, like Faith, wrote in their journals. It had bugged Faith when they first started joining her, but over time she began enjoying their company. It made her feel less lonely and less like a psych case. They all had their issues similar to hers. Sure, none of them was a murderer, but they each had their own story to tell. She even shared a little, although she left out her slayer status and the fact that she is a murderer. She didn't want to scare away her new friends.

The room was empty when Faith entered it, which she was grateful for. She just wanted a little quiet time to write. Three weeks in the ward and she had almost filled the journal Prue gave her. She was never the journaling type, but since she was admitted to the hospital, it had become somewhat of an obsession. A good obsession according to her therapist. She thinks it's a good idea to channel her negative feeling into positive activities.

One by one, her new friends joined her, each bouncing with anticipation for breakfast. When you're locked in a very small ward with thirty other people, it's the littlest things that helps you make it through the day. Food was the biggest littlest thing. Faith got three meals a day, once at eight, again at twelve, and finally at four. There were also three snacks a day at ten, two, and eight pm. Usually during group. Faith thankfully got two serving of food because she was still underweight from being starved for two months. Surprisingly, most of the food was delicious, and for the meals that she wasn't fond of, she could get a hamburger or pizza instead.

After breakfast she had her daily meeting with her management team. Her doctor spent a few minutes asking how she was? If there were any side effect from the meds? It was the same small talk each day. Her doctor was supposed to know her, but she barely spent any time with Faith. It bugged her a little, but it wasn't like she was in any position to change the system.

As Faith began to leave, Doctor Trade said the words Faith had been dying to hear since Prue's call. "You're going home today, Faith."

Faith turned back to the group of people sitting at the table in the conference room, and said the only words that came to mind, "Thank you."

She then turned back around and as fast as she could, which was pretty fast thanks to the serum wearing off, ran to her room. It took her all of ten minutes to fold all her clothing (all of which Prue and Phoebe had brought her), and organize her books. What she was allowed to keep in her room anyways. She then headed back to the back-nurse's station, to collect the hardcover books and the pens Prue had given her. Patients weren't allowed to keep things like that in their rooms. They might hurt themselves or someone else with them. Seemed kind of redundant seeing as they were allowed to have them in dining room and TV room, both of which weren't closely monitored.

Since there were no item taken away from her during intake, all she had to do is get dressed in her going home outfit. A present from Phoebe for when the day finally came. It was a pair of dark blue jeans, black tank top, and a dark blue jean jacket to match her pants. Prue promise to bring her a pair of boots when the time came for her to go home.

She skipped morning group. Why go to a pointless meeting when she going home? Opting instead to make sure she had everything Prue and Phoebe had brought for her. The last thing she wanted to do was forget one of her aunt's books, or an article of clothing. She didn't want to disappoint her family on her first day home.

All she had to do after that was wait for Prue to come pick her up.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Prue was sitting on the love seat next to the grandfather clock, anxiously waiting for a call from the hospital. This was it. That moment she dreamed about for nearly seventeen years was just a phone call away. Her daughter was coming home to stay.

Phoebe was sitting in an armchair across the room, with the book of shadows in her lap. She had been flipping through the large book all morning, searching for the demon they had fought the night before last. So far, she had no luck, but she was determined to find it before Faith came home. The last thing she wanted to do was go demon hunting the night her niece came home.

Prue jumped when Phoebe let out a yell of triumph.

"I got it," Phoebe cheered as she made it across the room excitedly. She flopped down next to her sister, and practically threw the book in her lap. "Alquiler. They're basically upper level demons for hire. They are able to shapeshift into their human form and they reproduce by impregnating humans. They're not stingy about who hires them as long as they get paid. Each payment is different, although it usually involves magic of some sort. Powers, potions, knowledge. It just depends on who is doing the job."

"It says they run in packs, with a single Alquiler leading them. If one of them fails to do the job, another will be sent to finish. The only way to stop them is to kill their entire pack." Prue closed the book with a snap. "Damn," she cursed. "We have to warn Darryl."

"We need more information," Phoebe said. She took the book from Prue and opened it again. "It only says that they travel in packs, not how many, or how to track them."

"You know what would be really helpful right now?" Prue asked sarcastically.

"What?" Phoebe asked not registering her sister's clipped tone.

"Leo," she yelled/answered, not expecting an answer.

Surprising, they heard the telltale jingling of Leo's orbs, and the faint voice of their sister. Prue and Phoebe turned on the couch just in time to see Leo and Piper orb into the foyer, trapped in a heated argument. Neither of them seemed to notice that they were being watched, even after Prue and Phoebe jumped up.

"We've been through this Leo, I don't care what they are. It's not right and it's not fair," Piper argued, sounding annoyed with just a hint of upset.

"I know that, but it's their rules," Leo said, sounding defeated; like a son caught in the middle of a fight between his parents and his girlfriend. Wanting desperately to be with his girlfriend without disappointing his parents.

"Screw their rules. They're wrong," Piper said with determination.

"Piper," Prue said.

Piper turned, finally acknowledging her sisters' presence. She pointed at them while saying, "Just a second." Then she quickly turned back to Leo, and half demanded, half pleaded, "Leo, you better do something about this, because this is not acceptable!"

"Piper, come on," Leo began, but was cut off when Piper aggressively threw her hand up and froze him with a frustrated growl.

Piper than turned to her sisters, and said, "I'm gonna go to the club. Do not tell him." Then before either sister could get a word out, she was gone. Out the front door as though she hadn't been gone for a month, leaving the door wide open behind her.

"Hi, welcome home," Prue snarked as Piper strolled down the cement stairs in front of their house.

Phoebe turned to Prue stunned, "Okay. What was that all about? I didn't even get to bitch at her."

"Yeah. Neither did I, but…"

Prue was cut off by Leo unfreezing mid-sentence.

"We have to talk about it…" He looked around for his now missing girlfriend in a daze. He hated when she did that. She talks about things not being fair. Well, her being able to freeze him to make a quick getaway mid argument was high on his list of unfair things.

"Leo, she left," Prue said, confirming what he was beginning to suspect.

"Yeah. So, now I get to bitch at you," Phoebe said, and then stormed up to the whitelighter. "Listen, the next time you take my sister someplace, please, call and let us know you got there safely. Okay. I don't care if it's up there…"

Prue, who could see the defeated look on Leo's face, raced to save him from her sister's ire, shushing her lightly until she stopped talking and calmed lightly. She then calmly turned to Leo and asked, "Um… Leo, can you do me a favor and just find out anything you an on Alquilers? They are demons. Okay. Thank you, bye."

Just as quickly as Leo had orbed into the room, he was gone again. Somewhat thankful for a situation that could yield good results.

Phoebe looked at the spot where Leo had just been with disappointment, before before avidly gesturing, "Excuse me. I have issues."

"Yes, I know," Prue said, while comforting Phoebe. "So, do I, but Leo looked pretty beaten up already."

"Yeah I know," Phoebe sighed, and then started to turn towards the door. "Which is why I'm now gonna go kick Piper's ass," she said with determination as she made her way to the door.

Prue, who registered what Phoebe had said only after she had grabbed her car keys, waved her fingers to close the front door.

Phoebe turned around, her mouth opened in shock and annoyance. "Okay, we have had this conversation. You are not allowed to use your active power on me until I have an active power to use on you, remember?"

"Yes, we have," Prue agreed with a smirk. "But you do have an active power. Unless you forgot the levitation you did two nights ago."

"Oh… Yeah…" Phoebe said and then smiled sheepishly. "I did forget. Even still. Somebody needs to talk to Piper. It is so not cool her just showing up after a month, only to run right out the door again."

"I agree, but if anybody is going to talk to Piper, it should be me. Okay? Cooler heads and all," Prue said. She took the keys that Phoebe reluctantly offered, and continued, "Besides, shouldn't you be in class?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes as Prue left the house.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Piper was in the stock room, staring at the nearly empty shelves in disbelief. When she looked at the books to go over the previous night's numbers, she found entries that shouldn't be there, and entries that should be there missing. That led her to check the stock room, where she found out why there were missing entries. The only thing she couldn't figure out was how everything got so messed in one lousy day.

The door to the club slammed shut, echoing through the hollow building. Before her powers were unbound, and she became one third of the worlds strongest witches, she would have been terrified. Now it only mildly worried her.

She left the stock room to see who had entered her club, not surprised when she heard Prue calling her name. Prue was making her way to the bar when Piper entered the club dance room. "This is really weird," she began immediately. "My supplies are, like, gone! There's no booze, there's no mineral water, and-and we're even out of pretzels! Plus, the books are all messed up." Piper threw the book log onto the counter and turned to Prue, who had taken a seat on one of the bar stools. "How did this happen in one lousy day?"

Prue looked at Piper with surprise written on her face. "One day? You're kidding me, right?" She asked with sarcasm etched in her voice. Piper rapidly shook her head no in short burst, causing Prue to grab her hand, and say, "Piper, you have been gone for one month," emphasizing the word 'month'.

Piper smile at her sister as though she'd gone crazy in her short time way. "What are you talking about?"

Prue looked around for anything that could prove what she was saying. Thankfully, somebody had left the daily paper laying on the bar behind her. "Here," she said as she put the paper in front of them, and tapped the date. "Check the date."

Piper looked at the date in shock, her widened eyes reflected her shock upon her face. "October? It's October. How is this possible?" She paused, giving herself a moment to think it over. "I guess time moves a little bit differently up there."

"Yeah well it doesn't keep your head from being bitten off down here."

Piper swiped her hand over her forehead. She could already feel the headache beginning to form. "Are you talking about demons?" she asked with dread filling her chest. She had just gotten back from what was apparently a month, not a day, from heavenly hell.

Prue shook her head. "Oh no," she drawled out. "Something so much worse than demons. Sisters. Especially Phoebe. We thought that you had abandoned us."

"That's ridiculous," Piper said, while turning her head to the left. "I would never abandon you guys." She turned her head to the right. "If I had known I was gone this long, I would have called or orbed or somehow let you know I was okay." She finally looked up at Prue, silently letting her know her words were true.

"Okay, so why didn't Leo?" Prue asked. "We must have called him a hundred times."

"Leo was battling his own demons," Piper sighed. She looked back at the paper. "Wait a minute, what's today?" She asked frantically, and then just as frantic said, "There's a band, the-the-the The Barenaked Ladies is playing here tomorrow. Did anybody bother to call them?"

Prue turned around to the spot that Piper had moved to. "I don't think that Phoebe knew," she said and then grabbed the phone Piper had just picked up. "You know, Piper," she said and then hung the phone back up, forcing Piper to calm for just a second. "Can we just talk about what happened up there first?"

"Sure. Unfortunately, the longer I'm back, the fuzzier it all seems to get. I think they do that on purpose. They're really big on mystery."

"Okay, do you remember anything?"

"Just feelings mostly. Good ones, peaceful and whole, and then it all went to crap when they said Leo and I had to stop seeing each other or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else they'd reassign him and we'd never see each other again," Piper said sadly. She shook her head in an attempt to keep her feeling at bay. "Just because it didn't work out with Mom and her whitelighter, I don't understand why I'm being punished."

"I'm sure that you guys will figure out a way around this," Prue said comfortingly. She said, "Come here," and then pulled Piper in for a hug. "Leo would never let you go without a fight," she comforted. "You know that."

"But what if he doesn't have a choice?" Piper asked.

Prue petted Piper's long ponytail and pulled her closer. They broke apart when they heard the club door open. They watched as Phoebe made her way done the stair mumbling about needing a cell phone to herself.

"Prue, I had a premonition of Darryl. An Alquiler stabbed him in the heart with an athame."

"Did you see where it happens?" Prue asked.

"No, just some parking lot somewhere," Phoebe answered.

"What's an Alquiler?" Piper asked feeling incredible confused and out of the loop. "Wh-wh-what did you do to your hair?"

"I'm sorry. Do I know you," Phoebe snarked.

Prue interrupted. "Okay Phoebe, now is not the time. Are you sure?"

"Yeah positive, although now that I think about it, I believe there was an ambulance parked in the back."

"Well that works out," Prue said happily. "Since we have to go to the hospital to pick up Faith."

Piper went to asked who Faith was, but was interrupted by Phoebe's well placed quip. "Who's Faith, you ask? Well, if you been around at all, then you'd probably know, huh?"

Prue stood up suddenly, grabbing her purse in the same swift movement. "All right! We'll fill you in tonight, she said as she pulled Phoebe away from Piper. As they made their way up the stairs, Prue yelled, "Leo's checking on the Alquilers, so you should get together with him and find out everything."

"And no orbing," Phoebe added.

Piper stood at the bar for a few minutes taking in everything that had happened since she and Leo returned from the heavens.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith was sitting across from the back-nursing station, staring at the door just to the left of the counter. It was the door that all visitors entered and exited through. It was nearly four in the afternoon, almost dinner time, and she had been siting there waiting for over six hours. She was nervous, her bouncing leg was visible proof of that, and with each passing hour, the fear that Prue was going to leave her there, became more and more possibly.

There was a knock on the door, causing her heart to start beating rapidly as the nurse opened the door. Disappointment filled her chest as two orderlies rolled in the food carts. What once had been the highlight of her day, now caused her just as much despair as being locked in Atty had.

There was another knock, only this time she could see Phoebe's smiling face through the small strip of glass. Relief and happiness filled her chest, causing tears to spring to her eyes. She was going home. She was going to a real home, with real loving people, who smiled when they saw her.

She stood quickly and waited nervously as the nurse let Prue and Phoebe in. Both of whom hugged her when they stepped through the door. Hugs were something she was still getting used to. It was weird and awkward at first, and she only did it to be polite. After awhile she started to warm to them, even enjoy them. It was still weird though. She wasn't used to people hugging her because they cared, instead of putting on a show or as a way to manipulate her into doing something.

"I brought a bag to put your things in," Phoebe said.

"And I brought you the promised boots," Prue said and handed the warn black boots to her. "They're your aunt Piper's. Hopefully they fit. We are going shopping tomorrow to get you a new pair. Ones that will fit you perfectly."

Faith took the shoes. "Thanks," she said softly. Getting things from Prue was like much of their current relationship, awkward. As she sat to put her boots on, and Prue went to sign her discharge papers, Phoebe neatly packed all her belongings into the small duffle bag she had brought.

"I'm glad you're coming home," she said softly.

Faith looked up at her aunt and gave her a rare honest smile. "Me too."

"Alright kid, your all set," Prue said. She tucked three stapled sheets of paper into the duffle bag and lifted it off the chair. "Let get you home."

Faith smiled again and walked through the door the nurse was holding open. She had already said her goodbyes, got email addresses and phone numbers from the girls she sat with. There was nothing left for her in that locked ward, but there was much for her on the other side. For the first time since her dad and sister died, she felt hopefully. Everything that came before was in the past. Yes, she still had a few things to make up for, but she had a bright future to do so in. She had a family to help her along the way.

She had finally found a home…


	8. Demons

Chapter 8: Demons

Prue, Phoebe, and Faith were nearly to the car when they heard the sounds of a struggle in the distance. They each turned around trying to pinpoint which way the sounds were coming from.

"Phoebe did you see a level number in your premonition?" Prue asked.

"No," Phoebe said frantically trying to recall her vision. "It was darker though, so maybe the underground levels."

"Then we go down," Prue said as she made her way to the car. She opened the trunk, deposited the duffle bag, and retrieved a smaller bag. "Come on," she instructed, as she began running toward the down ramp. "Let's hope the demon was smart and chose a place without cameras or, we're gonna have so explaining to do."

"What demon?" Faith asked as she followed along.

"Hired hit-man basically," Phoebe answered.

"For some reason, they've been coming after Darryl," Prue said.

They stopped when they reached the center of the first sub-level. They could hear somebody fighting, but they still couldn't see where it was coming from.

Prue turned to her sister and daughter. She opened the bag and pulled out a dagger, quickly slipping it into her pocket. "Here, take a knife and avoid the cameras as much as possible. I'm going to go that way, and the two of you are going to go that way. We'll meet back up on the other end. If you find the demon yell, and I'll come running."

Phoebe and Faith nodded their heads as they hid their knife and then turned away from Prue. As they ran, the fighting sounds got louder. As they rounded the corner, Darryl came into their sight. An Alquiler demon had Darryl by the throat, two feet off the ground. The man was fighting back, despite not being able to move much. Kick, after kick, hit the demon with little avail.

Phoebe yelled, "Stop," as she charged toward the demon.

Faith on the other hand, dipped behind a car before the demon had a chance to see her, and then quickly, but quietly, made her way down the row of cars, until she was behind the demon. While she was moving, Phoebe full on karate kicked the demon in the nether region, causing the demon to howl in pain and release Darryl, who dropped the ground in a heap, gasping for some much needed air.

Phoebe went to kick the demon in the head, but ended up floating in the air several inches higher then her intended target. "Crappy active power," she said as she attempted, but failed to get herself down again.

While the demon was occupied by watching Phoebe, Faith snuck up behind it and kicked behind it's right knee, causing it to buckle in pain. Going off what her aunt had been attempting to do she kicked the demon in the head. It roared in pain and anger and swiped its muscular arms back at her. She jumped backwards, narrowly missing the attack, and punched the ugly thing right in the nose. It howled in pain again, giving Faith an opening to take the knife from her pants and bury it directly in its heart. It didn't die like she thought it would. Instead it growled at her and thrust its arm at her, knocking her into the wall beside them.

"Faith," Phoebe yelled. She began kicking her legs and struggled to free herself.

Prue, who had heard Phoebe's yell 'stop', finally made it around the large garage to help. She took her own dagger, and magically thrusting the knife right between the eyes. It looked at Prue in surprise as it burst into flame, leaving nothing behind in its wake.

"Cool," Faith said. She was slowly making her way up the wall to a standing position.

"Are you okay?" Prue asked as she made her way to Faith's side.

"I'm good. I've had worse," Faith assured her.

"Are you sure?" Prue asked, clearly worried about her.

"I'm fine," Faith said, and then pointed to Phoebe. "You might want to go help her down before we have some explaining to do, though."

Prue turned around and looked up at her sister. "Phoebe. That's a hell of a nifty power you got, but now would be a good time to come back down."

"I can't," Phoebe whined. "I don't know how."

"Leo, I could really use your help," Prue yelled.

A few seconds later blue orbs began swirling next to her. He looked around at the group, and then asked, "What happened?"

"No time," Prue said and then pointed behind him at Phoebe. "Can you get her down please."

Leo looked at Phoebe in surprise, but quickly levitated to her level. "Did you wish for an active power again?" He asked playfully.

"Nope," Phoebe shook her head. "Learned my lesson the last time."

"Alright," Leo said as he gently grabbed her waist. "Just relax and allow me to guide you down."

"Okay… Okay," She said, and forced herself to relax. Before she knew it, she was firmly back on the ground.

"Good. Now heal Darryl please," Prue ordered frantically.

Faith, who had made her way to her mother's side, watch as the man who had appeared out of nowhere, placed his hands over Darryl emitting a golden glow, healing the cuts and bruises that littered the black man's face. "Damn that's cool, but you might want to hurry it up. We're about to have company."

Leo quickly rose, helping Darryl along up, and the group began walking to the level above. Leo kept sending worried glances towards Faith but didn't comment until they had reached Prue's car. "Darryl, where's your car?" he asked.

"It's out front. I was bringing a prisoner into the ER when I was grabbed from behind and dragged through the parking garage."

"Thank goodness we were here when it happened," Phoebe said.

"I'll be thankful when we get the entire pack," Prue said. "Until then, don't go anywhere alone. They're after you for some reason."

"Maybe somebody should stick with you," Faith suggested. "Make sure they don't get the drop on ya again."

"It won't look good with the bosses having a civilian following me around. I'll stick to populated places for now, and I'll crash at the station. I don't want these things around my family," Darryl grunted.

"Alright," Prue said. "But if you even suspect that one is following you, call, and we'll be there as soon as we can."

Darryl laid his hand on Prue's shoulders. "Thank you. I'd be a dead man if you ladies hadn't come to my rescue."

"We're always here for you, Darryl," Phoebe said.

"For anything," Prue added.

"What they said," Faith said. "I owe you." She looked to her mother. "We owe you. If you had taken me in without taking the time to figure out my real name, I'd be stuck in the Atty, instead of here with my fam."

"I'm happy to help," Darryl said. "I should go before somebody realizes I'm missing."

They watch as Darryl exited the garage, making sure there was nobody following him, before getting in the car.

Prue turned to look in the backseat, where Leo and Faith were sitting. "Faith, this is Leo, our whitelighter and Piper's boyfriend. Leo, this is my daughter, Faith."

Leo's eyes widen in shock, although he didn't question her. Instead he turned to Faith and extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Faith took the hand, "Same. You have some wicked powers."

Leo chuckled. "They come in handy."

"Speaking of handy," Prue said as she started the car. "Did you find anything out about the Alquiler demons."

"Yes," Leo stated. "Alquilers are high level demons who can only be killed with a well place knife to the brain, or a vanquishing potion. There's a coven in Toronto with the recipe. A friend of mine is working on getting it from one of her charges. The only way to stop the contract is to kill the alpha of the pack. As long as the alpha lives, they will continue to send demons until the kill is made."

"That's great," Phoebe said. "Is there a way to track them."

"The elders suggested a spell or scrying if you can manage to get a piece of one of them. They're all linked to their alpha by blood. It's how they hold control over they're disciples."

"Guess I'll work on a spell," Phoebe said. "We can't wait around for another demon to attack Darryl."

"Will blood work?" Faith asked. She pulled a dagger out of her pants pocket. "Cause I got some of that."

Phoebe turned around quickly and smiled widely. "You beautiful girl, you. You pulled the knife out before it turned to flames."

"Vampire slaying habit. If you leave the stake in their chest, it turns to dust with the vamp," Faith said. She carefully handed the knife to her aunt, and then asked. "Do I have powers too? Besides blinking."

Leo suddenly looked very alarmed, not that anyone other than Faith could see this. "Blinking?" He asked, his voice rising an octave or two higher than normal.

Phoebe turned around, "Don't worry Leo. We're about fifty-percent sure Faith isn't part warlock."

Faith snorted, while Leo looked even more alarmed. "That's comforting."

Prue pulled into the drive way, behind Piper's Jeep, and then turned around. "We'll explain inside."

Piper was waiting for them at the dining room table. The books for the club were spread out over the table, the house phone in one hand, with numbers for her distributors in the other, and a note pad and pen were to her right with neat scrawl reminding her what she needed to order.

She looked up as the door opened, surprised to find her boyfriend entering with her sisters and someone she had never met. She laid the phone and numbers on the table and stood to greet them. She watched the strange brunette very carefully, unsure of what to make of her.

"Piper, I'm glad you're home," Prue said. The duffle bag she was carrying, dropped gently to the floor, as if Prue had magicked it down. "This is Faith, my daughter," she happily announced, then turned to Faith. "This is your aunt Piper."

"Sup," Faith said, and then extended her arm out to greet Piper. When Piper hesitantly took her hand, she began to feel a tingling sensation, starting in her finger tips, then spreading up her arm to the rest of her body. At the same time the lights in the room began to flicker, and the chandelier began shake and glow brighter than it should be.

Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Leo all looked around the room, wondering what the hell was going on. The light show died down, and Faith retrieve her hand from her aunt's grip. It had felt like they were glued together. She stared at the hand, in wonder. "What the hell was that?"

"I'm not sure," Prue said. "Maybe the house is welcoming you to the family?"

"Yeah, could you explain how that is?" Piper asked.

"I had a baby when I was seventeen," Prue said, and then looked to Faith in awe. "Grams sent me away until just a few days before, and after I gave birth she took the baby away. Faith is that baby. She was brought home a few days after you left."

"And we're sure she is yours?" Piper asked and then added to Faith, "No offense."

Faith raised her hands. "None taken. Everybody's already asked that question. Got a DNA test to prove it." Piper smiled, and then looked at her sisters, "Is there any other world-shattering news you'd like to share."

Prue shook her head, while Phoebe snarked, "Well, if you had been here, you would know already."

"Alright," Prue interrupted, before Piper had a chance to say anything. "Leo why…" Prue cut herself off when Faith suddenly disappeared. "Faith?" She asked and then waited quietly for an answer.

"In the kitchen," they heard Faith holler. Together, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Leo, made a train into the kitchen.

Faith was standing at the fridge with the door open. "That was easier than before," she said. The door closed, revealing the glass pitcher of tea held in her left hand. "I was just thinking about being thirsty, and then bam I was here. There was no fight, or pain. It's a bit weird, but a helluva lot easier."

She suddenly disappeared again and reappeared next to the pantry door, the pitcher still in hand, the contents sloshing slightly over the edges.

"She blinked," Piper said alarmed. "Why is your daughter blinking Prue?"

"We believe her father comes from a long line of witches who could blink."

"Or is a warlock," Phoebe added. "Although the premonition I had suggests she is a Blake."

Faith disappeared again and reappeared at the table. Sloshing a little more tea over the sides.

"Alright," Prue said amused. "That's enough for now. Sit, and I'll get you a cup."

"Me too," Phoebe said, as she raced to sit next to Faith.

Prue returned to the table carrying five glasses, and a rag to clean up the spilled tea. She handed one to each of her family, then took a seat herself. As the pitcher was passed around, she asked Faith, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," Faith replied, and then as though her stomach realized it was well past its usual dinner time, it grumbled. Loudly.

Prue smiled. "How about we order in? Chinese sound good?" There was a chorus of 'yeses'. "Chinese it is."

Phoebe stood suddenly, "I'll go get the book. I have something to show you."

Phoebe darted out the kitchen, and by the time she had returned, Prue had placed their order for Chinese and Faith had downed two cups of tea. She set the smaller book she was holding in front of Leo and Piper, then carried the book of shadows to her seat next to Faith. She opened the book to a page she had marked with a picture.

"Here," she said excited, and then pushed the book in front of Faith.

Faith read the page in her head and then looked up at her family, all of whom were looking at her curiously. She looked back down and read the page aloud. "In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer. Born from the essence of a demon during the beginning of time, she will have the strength of those she kills, the speed of those who tried to flee, the sight of those who see in the night, and the hearing to hunt her prey. Still she will die, unlocking the next in line, until the day comes when all with the potential become the same. A vampire slayer."

"Flip to the next page," Phoebe said.

Faith did as she was told. There, scrolled across two pages, were the names of every slayer who lived and died. Their given names, activation date, and the day they died. She looked to the end of the list, at the very bottom of the second page. There in tiny neat script was her given name, Paulina Faith Lehane, May 23, 2012 – Current. Above her name was Kendra's, along with the day she was activated to the day she died. Then above hers was Buffy's, although Buffy's had two rows of dates beneath her name. The second row showed the day she was resuscitated, May 19, 2011 – Current.

"You're the slayer?" Leo asked, astonished.

"A slayer," Faith replied, and slid the book over to him. "See the name two up from mine? Buffy is still marked as current."

He read the names. "How is that possible?"

"She had friends who saved her," Faith said bitterly. The book reminded her of what the Scoobies hadn't been for her, and those pent-up feelings rose to the surface.

"Paulina," Piper said as she read the names as well. "You have a 'P' name too."

"I hate that name," Faith groaned. Paulina died with her father and sister. All that name did was remind her of what she lost, of who she lost.

"Well, I like Faith better anyways," Piper said, with a smile.

"I have to tell the Elders about this," Leo said, as he pushed the book across the table again.

"Why?" Prue said, sounding alarmed.

"They'll want to know about the newest Halliwell witch, if they don't already know. If I am correct, the light show the manor performed was a binding spell being lifted. When Phoebe called your powers to you, breaking the binding spell your Grams placed on you, the ripples were felt by everyone in the heavens. Besides, they might know if her father is a witch or a warlock."

Prue looked to Faith, "It's your choice."

Faith shrugged her shoulders. "Better to know than let my ass turned evil again," she replied.

"You weren't evil, Faith," Prue said. She laid her hand over Faith's. "You lost your way, and did some bad things, but you came back to the light." She looked around the table to her family, a soft smile upon her lips. "You have family to keep you on the side of good. We won't let anything bad happen to you, as long as we can help it. I promise you that."

Phoebe laid her hand on Faith's opposite arm. "I promise too. We won't let the dark side take you without a fight."

Piper reached across the table, grasped her free hand. "We protect our own here."

There were three of them now. The women who were vowing to protect her, no matter what. She had barely been able to contain the emotions that bubbled up inside of her with just Prue and Phoebe. You add Piper to the mix and there was no way for her to hold the tears back. Prue smiled at her and wiped away the tears that had rolled down her cheek.

"Go ahead, Leo. Find out what you can, and while you're up there, see about that vanquishing potion. We need to exterminate these gnats before one of them gets to Darryl.

Leo nodded and disappeared. At the same time there was a knock on the door. Prue went to retrieve the food, giving the delivery girl a hefty tip. She carried the box overflowing with food to the kitchen and sat it down on the island.

That night, Faith got her first glimpse of what it meant to be Halliwell. Together, the sisters taught Faith how to scry, leaving them with over a dozen spots scattered around the city. They taught her the finer arts of potion making, which Piper took the most pleasure out of doing, and the essentials for a good stakeout, just in case they were stuck in one area for too long.

In return, Faith taught her family the art of vampire hunting, which was done by accident. They were heading to their third location, when a group of vampires caught them off guard, Faith included, thanks to being out of practice and the lack of all her abilities. They were lucky that Piper was with them. Her freezing power turned out to be the saving grace, allowing Faith to quickly stake all five of them. After she stood there marveling at the power first.

It took them most of the night to find the Alquiler's den, killing a good portion of their fleet along the way. Finally, after making their way through the infested warehouse, they reached the alpha, who was already decked in it's natural skin.

"You killed my family," it accused in a low voice.

"Yeah, well you're trying to kill a friend of ours," Phoebe rebuked.

"It's what we are hired to do," the demon replied, its voice flowing smoothly and without care. "We don't question the hit, especially when the payment is so satisfying." It giggled and looked to Faith. "He will be so pleased to know you came with them. He's been waiting a long time for you."

Faith stepped forward. "Who has?"

"You'll soon see," the Alquiler said. "Until then the job has been completed. Your friend is safe. For now."

Before they had the chance to throw the remaining potions, the Alquiler vanished in a shimmering blur.

"Damn it," Phoebe yelled.

"What the hell was that?" Faith asked, looking to her aunts and mother. "What was he talking about?"

"I don't know, honey." Prue said. "We'll find out though. I promise. For now, let's head home and scry for his new location."

"Can we trust what he said about Darryl?" Phoebe asked.

Prue shook her head. "I won't believe Darryl is safe until the bastard is dead. Let's head home and see if we can find him again."

"Hold on," Faith said, and then thought hard on the kitchen. She disappeared, and a few seconds later, reappeared. "The crystal isn't dropping for me."

"You did it earlier honey," Phoebe assured her. "They've probably gone underground."

"Underground?"

"To the Underworld," Prue replied. "We can't scry for them if they're not on our plane. We'll have to wait and see if they resurface."

"What do we do till then?" Faith asked.

"We make sure Darryl is safe, and we go on living our lives," Piper answered. "It's all we can do for now."

Faith kicked a rock across the room. "This sucks."

Prue laid her hand on Faith's shoulder. "Calm down, Faith."

Faith shrugged Prue's hand away, and snapped, "I'm fine." She ignored the hurt look that crossed Prue's features, and walked back through the warehouse.

The car ride home was a silent, tension filled, trip. Faith was fuming, although she wasn't sure why, and it was causing her family to worry. Partly because she was still new to them, unpredictable, but partly because they were aware of what could happen to her powers because of her heightened emotions. She had the power to blink, which she had mastered in record time, but there was a chance she would also manifest a power from their blood line.

Faith didn't say a word as they entered the house. Her anger had lessened, leaving her with guilt over snapping at her mother. Prue hadn't shown her were she was sleeping yet, so she went into the living room and plopped into one of the arm chairs.

In the parlor, the sisters were quietly saying goodnight. Once Phoebe and Piper headed upstairs, Prue called Faith to her. "I'll show you where your room is," she said, and silently led Faith up the stairs to the room she had spent weeks preparing.

Faith stepped through the door and froze. She knew Prue was fixing up her Grams' old sewing room for her, but she hadn't expected what she was looking at. The walls we freshly painted red and black, there was a brand-new red and black comforter to match, a desk with a brand-new laptop still in the box sitting untouched. Black curtains that still had the fresh out of the package creases, and brand-new carpeting, black.

"It's small, but it's all yours," Prue said.

"Thanks," Faith said in a small voice.

"If you need me, my room is across the hall and to the left. The bathroom is the next door, Phoebe's is the first door to the right, and Piper's is the last one to the right."

Faith just nodded her head, unsure of what to say. "There are pajamas in the wardrobe, along with some of mine and Phoebe's old clothing. Pick out what you like, and the rest we'll take to the church."

"Thanks," Faith said again, just as quietly. She closed the door quietly when Prue left her and sat on the bed. It had been years since she had her own room, safe from the creatures that roamed at night, both human and demon. She turned on the small desk lamp and turned off the big over head light. She was tired, more than ready to lay her head down for the night, but her mind wouldn't allow it.

She changed into a pair of pajamas she found in the wardrobe, then inspected the remaining clothing. She had to say, her mom and aunts had decent taste in clothes. There were a lot of tank tops, t-shirts, jeans, couple of button ups, and a few dresses that she would only wear for special occasions.

She checked out the laptop sitting on the desk. She hadn't used a computer in years, but the picture on the box looked cool. Sitting next to the laptop was a little box that she hadn't noticed before. She opened it to reveal the triquetra Prue had bought for her. She smiled softly at the pendent, and then put it on.

Finally, she sat on the bed, surprised at how soft it was. She laid down, wiggled around a little bit until she got comfortable, and allowed a day's worth of excitement, worry, magical lessons, and demon hunting to lure her to sleep.


	9. Adjusting

Chapter 9: Adjusting

Prue was the first one to rise the next morning, as usual. Despite their late-night demon hunting excursion, she had a long day ahead of her, and wanted to get an early start. There was so much to do, and so little time to get it all done. She showered and dressed, then peeked in on Faith before heading down to start a pot of coffee. The smell would rise Piper from her slumber, but she wouldn't be there to greet her.

She rushed through her errands as fast as she could, eager to return to her family. She stopped by work to drop the prints she developed, then headed to the pharmacy to get Faith prescriptions filled. While they filled the scripts, she ran across the street to get a box of donuts from her favorite bakery. She went back to the pharmacy to pay for the prescriptions, making a mental note to add Faith on to her insurance.

Once she had the prescriptions in hand she headed back to her car, ready to head home for the time being. The rest of her errands involved Faith. The drive home was short thankfully. She was eager to spend time with Faith.

Piper was alone in the kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee while reading the morning paper. The small TV that sat on the counter was on, but muted. "The Bare-Naked Ladies, are playing at the club tonight. It on the news a little while ago," Piper said, with out looking up. "Where'd you run off to?"

"Work and the pharmacy to pick up Faith's prescriptions, with a pit-stop at Mama Betty's," she replied.

Piper looked up from the paper with glee in her eyes, eyeing the box of sugary goodness. Prue sat the box down and flipped the top open.

Prue went to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. She glanced at the time. It was after eleven already. "Has Faith gotten up yet?"

"No," Piper said around a mouth full of jelly donut. "I checked in on her. She was still sleeping soundly."

"I'll have to go wake her then," Prue said. "We're meeting Laurel, the woman who helped us get Faith's custody transferred to me, for lunch, then we are going shopping. Do want to come with. It'd be a good way to get to know your niece."

"I would love to, but I'm meeting the band's manager at the club at one to get things set up," Piper said. "Are you coming tonight?"

Prue sat at the table and handed Piper a small plate. "No. I don't want to leave Faith alone on her second night home."

"What are you going shopping for?" Piper asked.

"Just the basics, Faith closet consists of all our handy downs. She also needs shoes. She's wearing yours at the moment."

"Mm," Piper hummed. "I thought her boots looked familiar."

"I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Piper said as she picked at her donut. "It's a hard concept to grasp, her being family. It's strange."

"To be honest," Prue said quietly. "I'm still wrapping my head around it. I never thought I would see her again, but now she's here. It's amazing and terrifying all at the same time."

Piper smile softly at her sister. "You'll do great Prue. You practically raised Phoebe and I. With us here to help, Faith will be a breeze."

"I'd like to think so, but Faith's not your normal teenager. She has a mental illness do deal with, and magical powers to boot. We have a lot to teach her, and we've barely just the hang of it ourselves."

"Together we'll figure it out," Piper assured her.

She was going to say something else, but there was a soft popping sound followed by the appearance of a still sleeping Faith on the table in front of her. Both sisters jumped at the sudden appearance.

"Uh-oh," Prue said quietly, as she realized they might have a problem on their hands. She gently shook the arm that wasn't propping the girl's head up. "Faith, wake up."

Faith woke with a jolt, rolling off the table, and crashing into the chairs below. "Ow," she cried out, before gaining her balance and standing up. She rubbed her left side, trying to ease the pain throbbing from her still healing ribs. "How'd I get down here?" she asked groggily.

"You blinked," Prue said, as she went around the table towards her. "Are you okay? Did you re-break them? Let me see."

She went to pull Faith's shirt to inspect her side, when Faith's hands stopped her. She glanced at Piper wearily, then sternly said, "I'm fine Prue. I can already feel my healing kicking in. I'll be fine in a few days." She looked back to Piper again briefly, just long enough to read her face. She had gotten to know Prue and Phoebe over the last month and was less embarrassed by them seeing her cuts and bruises. After all they had helped to clean them when she first arrived at the manor. She had no choice but to get over her embarrassment. Piper was another story. She didn't know this woman and had the chance to keep the worst of her body's blemishes to herself.

The worst of her facial cuts and bruises were gone, sans a few dark spots, but her stomach, back, and thighs had taken the worst of the beatings. There were still quite a bit of seeable damage remaining. With her healing slowly returning, she would be bruise free within the week. Then if Prue's maternal instincts kicked into overdrive, she wouldn't give a damn if Piper saw her body. After all, she usually wasn't the bashful type.

Prue notice the look and backed away, slightly hurt, but understood. "When we get home, we're going to work on your control. We can't have you accidentally blinking out of the house while you sleep."

"Yeah, okay," Faith said, as she made her way to the coffee pot. "I was dreaming about eating. Guess it would be bad if I was dreaming about B and the gang and ended up in SunnyD. Might freak them out a bit." She poured an obscene amount of sugar into her mug than turned towards her mother and aunt. "I wonder how far I can go," she mused.

"Well for now you aren't allowed to leave the city limits," Prue said sternly. "We're getting you a cell phone while we're out, just in case."

"Cool," Faith said, and she reached for a donut. "Never had one of those before. Though I doubt it'll get much use. The only friends I have are the ones who I met in the psych ward."

"You'll make more, honey," Prue said.

Faith took a big bite of her donut, then asked, "So what are the conditions of my release?"

Prue pulled Faith's medicine out of her purse, then dumped the bottles out on the table. "For starters, you have to take your meds every day. No excuses."

Faith reached across the table and took the bottles. "Ain't gotta worry 'bout that." She opened the bottle for her carbamazepine, and downed two pills with her coffee. "I take the other one when I go to bed. It knocks my ass out."

"Good to know," Prue said. She took the pill bottles and tucked them away in the draw below the phone. "We need to find a therapist as soon as possible. I'm heading to the school first thing on Monday to see what we need to do for homeschooling. We'll have monthly visits from Social Services, to see how you are, and the most important, you can not do anything to put your freedom at jeopardy. No drugs, no alcohol, no illegal activity, and no getting caught out past curfew."

"So, I'm basically on house arrest," Faith summed up.

"Pretty much," Prue said. "In six months, the judge is going to revisit your case, and this time next year you could be a normal teenager, going to a normal school, living as normal a life as our destinies allow."

"I just can't screw up in the meantime," Faith said.

"Just think of it as a goal. One that you have us to help you achieve," Prue said.

Faith took another donut, a jelly filled this time, and smile lightly at it. Two years ago she watched the Scoobies argue over who ate the last jelly donut, jealous over their relationship. Now she had a team backing her up, in the form of a real family. She took a bite of it and savored the sweet taste. "I got this."

Piper was about to ask what Faith had done, when Leo orbed in, shifting her focus to him. "Leo. Where have you been?"

"In the underworld, tracking the Alquiler alpha. I wanted to see if it would lead me to whoever hired him."

"Any luck?" Prue asked.

"No," Leo sighed. He sat next to Piper, and gently squeezed her hand. "I was able to get some information about the Blake family though. Clara Blake married and had several children, but only one survived long enough to have children, a son by the name Trent Waters. The surname has changed several times since then; Holmes; Rocks; Mason; but they've still been hunted making it hard to expand their family. The only family members remaining in the last two generations have been girls. Making it unlikely that Faith's parentage comes from that branch of the tree."

"Edgar Blake's branch on the other hand is a mystery. He began using his craft in a dark way, and eventually blocked the Elders from being able to track him and his descendants, but not before he had two children. Sara and Samantha Blake. Sara was captured by warlock before she reached adulthood, but Samantha married a man whose name was Charles Landon."

"Landon. Blake's last name was Landon," Prue said. "That's too much of a coincidence."

"That's what they think." He looked to Faith, "They said if you have the birthmark, then you are definitely a descendant of the Blake line. If not, then it is more likely that your father was a warlock."

"What's the birthmark?" she asked, feeling hopeful that it matched the one on her back

"An eye," Phoebe said for the doorway, startling everybody. "Which I saw on your back."

Faith's eyes lit up. "That means I'm not evil?"

Prue reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Of course not, honey. You are a witch though. Through and through."

Leo, "I should go tell the Elders the good news."

"So soon?" Piper asked looking hurt.

Leo looked around at his girlfriend's family, then quietly said. "It's not safe for me to stay longer than needed."

"Leo," Piper sighed heavily.

"I know," He said, then orbed away without kissing her goodbye.

"That was kinda fucked up," Faith observed. "He could've given ya a kiss at least."

"Faith, language," Prue scolded. Then looked to Piper. "She's right though. Is he really giving up that easily?"

"I think he is just being overly cautious," Piper replied.

"Still, he could have given ya a kiss," Faith insisted.

Prue snorted lightly, then gestured to her. "Come on Faith, we need to get ready. We have a lot to do today."

"Can I finish my food first?"

"On the way," she said.

"Fine," Faith groaned, then shoved the rest of her donut in her mouth, before shuffling out the room, with Prue hot on her heals.

Phoebe shuffled to the table to choose a donut, chuckling. "She seems to be adjusting well."

"About as well as any teen," Piper said, going back to her paper. She had questions about Faith, but she would ask Prue later. She only had a little while before she had to head to the club to start setting up. Thankfully she had been able to restock the bar. The Bare-Naked Ladies performance would be a bust without any snacks or refreshments.

She looked over the paper and watched Phoebe happily munching on her donut, but still ignoring her. She wondered when she would be forgiven for her impromptu vacation to the heavens. She was upset that she left them for a month, but it wasn't like it was intentional. It was just supposed to be for a few hours. Long enough for her to meet the Elders and some of Leo's whitelighter friends. It turned out to be further from what she had expected. Still, she would have to deal with her sister's ire until she was ready to forgive her. Thankfully Phoebe wasn't the grudge holding type. She was the easy going, lets let the past in the past type.

Piper continued to read her paper until she heard Prue yelling goodbye, reminding her that she had to leave as well. She folded the paper up, swallowed the remnants of her cold coffee, then passed the paper to Phoebe. "I'm heading to the club. Will I see you there?"

"Maybe," Phoebe mumbled, as she pretended to read the portion of the paper Prue had been reading. "Bye."

Well at least she got something.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

Faith was bored. Like mind numbing, bash your brains out bored. Prue had dragged her all over the mall making her try on outfit after outfit, shoe after shoe. Sure, she liked a lot of the clothing Prue picked out for her, but she was not the shopping type. Most of her clothing came from small shops that were easy to steal from, and a lot of it was simple. She liked simple. She wasn't about to deny Prue this though. So, she followed along, picking things out here and there, pretending to be interested.

"Come on Faith," Prue said. "We have one more shop to hit before we head home."

To Faith's relief, Prue led her to the electronics store to pick out her new cell phone. Prue also bought her a bunch of accessories to go with her phone and laptop. All in all, Prue had spent some serious cash on her, and she was feeling a little strange about it. She wasn't used to having someone taking care of her, let alone spoiler her like Prue was.

On the way out to the car, she got a strange feeling in her gut, a telltale sign there was a demon in the vicinity. She looked around for the source but couldn't find it. The sun was still up, making sure that there were no vampires in the near vicinity. Still her stomach tightened as though there was one standing next to her. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable.

"Prue," she said quietly. "There's something here."

Prue stopped and looked back at Faith. "What?"

"There's something here. I can sense it. Like I do a when I'm near a vamp, only it's stronger," she explained.

"Whatever it is, it won't attack here. It's too population. It risks exposure," Prue said, as she too looked around the crowed entrance. "Let's put this stuff in the car, then we can come back and scope the place out."

Faith nodded her head, then followed her mother to the car. They walked the lengths of the mall several times before taking a lap around the outside perimeter. The feeling never returned. Whatever had been there must have left.

"Whatever it was, was powerful," Faith commented as they made their way home.

"It's possible you were feeling a demon or a warlock. I don't know much about slayers or how your powers work," Prue said.

"Maybe," Faith sighed.

When they got home, Prue made Faith put all of her new clothing in the mud room so she could wash them. Faith preceded to inform Prue that she was capable of washing her own clothing, but Prue was insistent on doing washing them for her. Faith shrugged her shoulders at her and went up to her room. Who was she to turn down free laundry service?

She was eager to check out the laptop Prue bought for her and set up her iPhone 5. Whatever the hell that was. It took her most of the afternoon to go through the steps to set up both. It had been years since she used a computer and she had never had a cell phone before. Prue gave her an iTunes card that she could use to buy apps and music with, but she had no idea how to add the card to her account. After searching through everything to figure it out, she admitted defeat and took the phone and the card downstairs to where Prue was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Prue smiled at her when she bashfully handed her the items, surprised and amused by this new and unusual side of Faith. She talked her through the steps to add the card and then handed her phone back. Faith took the phone and sat at the table with it, causing Prue's smile to widen. It was nice to have Faith sitting at the table doing a normal teenage thing. For a moment, she forgot that this was only Faith's second night home.

Phoebe joined them for dinner before heading to P3 to see The Bare-Naked Ladies perform. Faith felt bad that Prue was missing the show because of her, even telling her she would be fine for a few hours alone. She wanted to be hurt by Prue's insistence at staying home with her, but she knew Prue's desire to remain was about more than her mental state. Prue genuinely wanted to spend the night with her.

After Phoebe left, Prue took Faith upstairs to the attic so they could work on Faith's magical control. The last thing they needed was for Faith to blink out somewhere when she wasn't meaning to. They sat on the floor across from each other as Prue demonstrated her powers for Faith. The wide smile that crossed Faith's features when she made a toy car roll across the room warmed Prue's heart.

Although she was happy that Faith enjoyed learning about being a witch, her eager attitude for all things magic also worried her. Faith was still reluctant to talk about what happened in Sunnydale, she was aware that Faith's slayer powers were partly to blame for Faith's psychotic episode. Prue was afraid that she would fail to properly teach Faith control over her abilities, which could lead her back down the dark path she once was on. She supposed this was a normal parental fear, only with a magical twist to it.

She had learned a few meditation techniques after reading that meditations was good for people suffering with mental illnesses. Those techniques came in handy to help Faith learn to control her blinking power, so she wasn't accidentally blinking at every thought.

Faith wasn't happy with the meditation, but she went along with it. She wasn't eager to find herself blinking to Sunnydale in the middle of the night. Her nightmares had gotten worse over the last few weeks, with Buffy making an appearance regularly. She wasn't ready to face Buffy yet. Not when she was still coming to terms with what she did and learning how to cope with it.

Later that night, Faith was rummaging through the draws of her desk checking out all the neat thing Prue had put there. She found empty journals, pens in all different colors, art supplies, and just about every office supply a person could ever need. That wasn't the most interesting thing in her desk though. The sole occupants of the bottom draw were the files Darryl had brought with him.

Out of curiosity she thumbed through the files, just to see what was in them. The story depicted in the files was not a complete version of events. There were details missing, either because the social workers didn't know the true stories, or they just didn't care enough to add it. Even still, it took Faith on a painful trip down memory lane.

She jumped when someone knocked at her door. She looked at the clock on her nightstand, surprised to find it already after four in the morning. She lost track of time as she read each page of her story. She tossed the file onto her desk where it landed haphazardly on top of the others, then moved to open the door.

She had expected to see her mother on the other side, ready to scold her for staying up so late (because that's what parents did, right?). Instead she found her Aunt Piper standing there, still dressed in her baby blue tank top and lighter blue skirt.

"Hey," she said awkwardly, then turn around and slumped back into her chair.

"Hey yourself," Piper said with a soft smile. She leaned against the doorframe, and asked, "Everything alright? It's kind of late."

"Every thing's five-by-five," Faith grunted.

Piper eyed her suspiciously, before looking at the pile of files, the top of which was still open. Faith followed her eye-line, and then quickly closed the file.

"You're right," Faith said, capturing Piper's attention again. "It's late. I should get some sleep."

"Okay. I just wanted to say goodnight," Piper said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Night," Faith said, then closed the door as Piper walked away. She sat back down and glared at the files on her desk, irritated that she had spent so much time reading them. They were her past and she needed to keep it there. Her family could never know what was in them. It was bad enough they knew the little they did. She gathered the files up and carelessly tossed them back into the draw.

As she laid in her bed, she couldn't help but wonder what her life would have been like if Prue had kept her. Would she be less fucked up? Would she be more? No, of that she was sure. Prue was so loving towards her. She treated her the same way her father had. It was nice and comforting. That left a sour taste in her mouth. She could have grown up with her family.

Prue had said that her Grams forced her to give her away. That she had taken Faith away from her because her life had been in danger. What if that was just a crock of bull? Even if it was true, Prue could have fought harder to keep her. Then she could have had a nice loving family to grow up with. Her life wouldn't have been as shitty as it was.

Faith groaned, and rolled onto her side, and stared out her window. There was an owl sitting just outside, staring at her curiously, or maybe she just thought it was. She rolled back over and resolved herself to go to sleep. If there is one thing she'd learned, it did no one any good to dwell on what could have been. It just fucked things up for you in the future. Her life was the way it was, and nothing could change the things that happened or the things she did.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

When Faith woke the next morning, she found herself in the middle of the kitchen on the floor. She rolled onto her back and looked up into the eyes of her mother and aunts.

"Dreaming about food again?" Prue asked amused.

"Maybe," Faith groaned and sat up. "That's gonna get annoying real fast."

Piper smirked at her, "I'll see if Leo can help."

"Thanks," Faith mumbled and then stood up. "This power's only cool if I know when I'm doin' it."

"Are you hungry? I'll whip you up something to eat," Piper offered.

Faith looked at her skeptically, still not sure what to make of her.

"Oh, I'd say yes if I were you," Phoebe said. "Piper's the cook of the family. She's the one who made that lasagna you like so much."

Faith lit up at the mention of the lasagna. "Yo. That shit was banging."

"Language Faith," Prue scolded lightly, though there was a smile on her face.

"I'm down," Faith said as she grabbed a cup of coffee.

"Great," Piper chirped. "I'll make everyone lunch."

Faith sat down at the table with her cup in hand. "Any word on our demons?" she asked, and then took part of the paper from Prue.

Prue looked at her daughter strangely. What teenager in the world willingly reads the newspaper? "No, but Darryl called this morning. A murder case crossed his death this morning and he thinks it might be up our alley."

"Vampires?" Faith asked.

"Two puncture holes on the neck and all the blood drain for his body makes me think yes."

"Does this mean I can go out on patrol tonight," Faith asked, a little hopeful, the slayer within calling to hunt.

Prue didn't answer her. Instead she turned in her chair and opened the draw behind her and pulling out Faith's prescriptions. She placed both of them in front of her with a pointed look. Faith rolled her eyes and opened the bottle with the small white pills.

"You didn't take your meds last night," Prue said accusingly.

"I forgot. Got caught up with something," Faith grumbled.

"That can't happen Faith. Nothing is more important than your mental health," Prue said.

"I know that," Faith snapped, she pushed her chair back roughly and went to leave. Prue grabbed her arm to stop her. Faith glared at her, then blinked up to her room, unwillingly taking Prue with her.

Prue fell to the floor and looked up at Faith woozily. "Wow was that weird." Prue shook her head as stood up, then sat on the bed. "We need to discuss some rules, starting with you not being allowed to blink out in the middle of a discussion."

Faith snorted rudely. "I'd like to see you try and stop me."

"What's with the attitude today?"

"I'm not the one with the 'tude," Faith said, crossing her arms in defiance.

Prue stood up and crossed her own arms. "Look. I know you're still getting used to having an authority figure around. I know I'm still getting used to being that authority figure, but you have to meet me halfway here. I can't have you blinking away during every conversation you don't like."

"Fine," Faith grumbled.

"Now I was going to say yes, we can go out on patrol tonight if you promise to take you meds, but I don't think you've earned that privilege yet."

Faith glared at Prue. "Slaying ain't a privilege, it's my job."

"Until you can prove to the judge that you aren't a danger to society, then yes, it is a privilege. You were off your meds for a while and you suddenly have a great deal more power than before. It's my job as your mom to make sure you're going out there with your head on straight, that way you don't do something you might regret later on. I'll admit that you seem like you're doing good right now, albeit the attitude, and you did well the other night when we went hunting. I just want to make sure it stays like that. Understand?"

Faith looked down at the floor unable to bring herself to look at Prue, partially because she was embarrassed at overreacting and partly because she felt weird by Prue's concern. "Yeah."

Prue gently put her hand under Faith's chin and raised her head up. "I love you kid, and my only goal is to be a good mom for you. You deserve that. Even if you don't always agree with me."

Faith bit back the tears that welled in her eyes. She hated showing her emotions. Especially when she didn't know the people very well. Prue just seemed so genuine, it was hard not to take her words a face value. She really did care about her. She really did love her, and she didn't need to do anything to earn that love. She simply just did. It had been years since she heard those words without somebody wanting something in return. Not since her father died.

"Now, come back downstairs, and I'll consider allowing you to come with Phoebe and I tonight," Prue offered.

Faith nodded her head in agreement, then grabbed Prue's hand and blinked them back downstairs.

"The stairs work perfectly fine, Faith," Prue scolded lightly, and then found herself back in Faith's room. "Okay, no more blinking me around. That is the oddest sensation."

Faith just chuckled lightly and followed her mother, grabbing her phone off the desk as she went.


	10. Telekinetic Animation

Chapter 10: Telekinetic Animation

Faith sat on her bed, staring down at the cell phone in hand. The digits to a phone number in hand, just waiting for her to press the send button. She took a deep breath and hit send, then put the phone up to her ear and waited breathlessly for someone to answer.

"Hello. Angel Investigations. We help the helpless," Cordelia Chase's chirpy voice said, and Faith froze remembering the last time she saw Cordy. "Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?"

Faith hung up the phone and exhaled heavily.

"Everything alright?" Phoebe asked from the doorway, startling Faith.

"Ah… Yeah…"

"Alright. You ready to go?" she asked.

Faith slipped her phone into her pants, then jumped up and punched her palm. "Hell yeah."

"Well, let's go then," Phoebe said.

They made their way downstairs to where Prue was already waiting for them, a stake in one hand and a knife in the other. "Here you go," she said handing the items to Faith, who tucked the stake and the knife into the leather jacket she was wearing. Piper had gifted her the jacket after sowing special pockets inside it to hold all her slaying tools.

"Alright kiddo," Prue said with a smirk. "You're in charge. We'll follow your lead."

The three of them piled into Prue's car headed downtown. The body had been found outside of an all ages club, so that's where they went. Faith felt strange as the loud music accosted her sensitive hearing. She forgot how loud clubs could be, and after months of hearing barley anything, the music hurt. She would have to readjust to the noise, so she could enjoy the music again.

Faith lead them around the club to a table overlooking the dance floor and sensed everything in her surroundings. Like her overly sensitive ears, her slayer senses were overwhelmed by the amount of people around her. Not to mention some of her slayer abilities were still slightly muted by the serum.

She closed her eyes and let her senses reach out over the crowd, feeling each individual signatures for any demonic note. She growled and slammed her fist on the table.

"Faith. What's wrong?" Pure asked concerned.

"Nothin'," Faith replied. "Come on. We ain't gonna find shit here."

"Alright honey," Prue said.

Faith lead them out of the club and exhaled a sigh of relief as she stepped into the cool night air. The music from the club could still be heard, but is was muted, allowing Faith the chance to breathe. Things were different now, she could feel it. She was going to have to take a step back and build up her tolerances and abilities before she flung herself full force into the slayers life again. At least with the club scene.

"Come on. I thought I saw a cemetery a few blocks back. If there's any vamps lurking, we might be able to catch them there."

Prue and Phoebe fell into step as Faith lead them to the cemetery she saw. "Did Darryl say where and when she's going to buried?"

"No," Prue answered. "Do you think there's a chance of her turning?"

"It's possible," Faith grunted.

"You okay kiddo?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah. Just not used to the noise, ya know. Couldn't get a feel on anything."

Prue laid her hand on Faith's shoulder. "You'll get the hang of it."

"Yeah," Faith said as the entered the cemetery. They were mere feet inside the gates when Faith's slayer senses picked up on something. She paused and focused on where it was coming from, momentarily happy that Prue had forced her to meditate the night before, because it seemed to be helping her out in that moment. "This way," she said and then turned to her right.

They had been walking for a few minutes when they came across a group of about ten vampires, hanging outside a crypt, talking loudly with beers in their hands and smokes in their mouths.

"It 2013, who the hell still smokes cigarettes?" Phoebe asked.

"Vamps apparently," Faith replied.

"We should have brought Piper with," Prue said. "There are too many to fight by ourselves."

Faith turned to her mother with a smirk and said, "Please, this is nothing." She then ducked out from behind the tree they were hiding behind and whistled loudly. "Hey vampies? Wanna come and play?"

The vampires turned to her with grins on their faces. They tossed their cigarettes to the ground, not bothering to stamp them out, and chugged the rest of their beers before throwing them over their heads.

Faith grinned as they stalked towards her, then just as they were mere feet away, she blinked behind them. She pulled out her stake and had two dusted before any of them realized what happened.

When they turned to charge at her, Prue and Phoebe popped out from behind the tree and staked the two closet vampires, causing the remaining vamps to scatter, clearly realizing they were in trouble.

Faith smiled widely at her mom and aunt and then blinked in front of the largest group. "Where do you think you're going? I wasn't done playing yet."

They growled at her, then lunged, crashing into each other as she blinked behind them. She staked two of them before the third realized he was in trouble. He looked up at her with a pleading look on his face, his vampire face bleeding into his human. "Please don't kill me," he pleaded.

"Yeah. Like I'm going to fall for your innocent little vampire routine," she snarked. She went to thrust the stake into his heart, but the vampire rolled away, causing her to slam the stake into the ground. He kicked her in the stomach before she had a chance to pull it out, causing her to fly backwards, crashing hard into the ground, re-breaking her still healing ribs. "Damn," she groaned and tried to get up, but the vampire was on her before she had the chance. She tried to fight him off, but with her strength still not at one-hundred percent, he had the upper hand.

She vaguely registered Phoebe yelling, "Holy crap," from somewhere behind her, then a few seconds later the vampire was turning to dust over her. She coughed as she accidentally inhaled some. She looked up to see who her savior was and was surprised to find a tree, that had been several yards away from her mere minutes before, staring down at her.

"What the fuck?" she asked. She turned to look up at her aunt and mother, who were both staring at the animated tree with shocked looks on their faces. "What's going on?"

Prue rushed to Faith's side to help her up, while keeping her eyes on the moving tree the entire time. "I don't know." She pulled Faith away from the tree and yelled for Leo.

The whitelighter appeared in front of them a few seconds later. He gave them a quick glance over to make sure they were alright and then asked, "What's wrong?" All three of them pointed to the moving tree behind him. He turned and almost immediately exclaimed, "Holy crap!"

Unlike the girls, who had backed away from the moving tree, Leo walked towards it. He placed his hand on the trunk in amazement and smiled when the tree shook as though he had tickled it.

"Leo?" Prue asked, gathering his attention. "What is it?"

"Telekinetic animation," he smiled widely. "It's a very rare power, only seen a few times over the years. I myself have never seen it up close. Only ever read about it and heard stories from other whitelighters."

"And this power gives the user the ability to turn trees into moving beings?" Phoebe asked for clarification.

"Yes, but it's more than that. It gives the user the ability to bring any inanimate object they choose to life."

"You mean like in the Beauty and the Beast?" Faith asked.

"Essentially, yeah," he said. "The last Halliwell to have this power was Grace Warren."

Both Prue and Phoebe turned to Faith in surprise, who looked at them strangely. "What? You think I did this?"

"It had to be you honey. Neither Phoebe nor I have this power," Prue explained.

Faith looked at them and then to the tree who she swore was looking at her with confused look. "I can bring shit to life?" she said awe. "Well how do I make it go back to normal?"

"Try telling it to go back," Leo suggested.

"Alright," she said then looked at the tree. "Go back to where you came from," she said uncertainly.

Prue, Leo, and Phoebe chuckled lightly at the annoyed look the crossed Faith's face when it didn't listen.

Leo move to stand next to Faith. "No. I meant mentally. Close your eyes," he instructed lightly, and she did as he said. "Now, visualize the tree going back to where it was, its roots burrowing back into the ground, and it's trunk and branches growing stiff again. Imagine all the magic draining from the tree as it becomes a tree again, instead of an animated being."

Faith did as he instructed. She envisioned the tree walking (for a lack of a better word) back to the hole it's removal created. Sinking its roots back into the earth and growing stiff again. When she opened her eyes, she was amazed to find the tree back where it belonged.

"Damn. That was wicked!" she exclaimed. She clapped her hands together and smiled at her mother. "This witch thing is going to be awesome. I can't wait to tell Angel about this."

"Angel?" Prue asked curiously.

Oh…" Faith lamented, realizing she'd said too much. "They're just a friend, is all."

"You haven't mentioned them before," Prue said.

"Cause it's not that important," Faith grumbled. Then went over to where her stake was still stuck in the ground. She didn't say a word as she pushed past her family and headed deeper into the cemetery, leaving them behind to wonder what the problem was.

Faith-Charmed-Faith

They got home around midnight, having given up after not finding another vampire, and Faith went up to her room without saying a word. Prue watched her walk up the stairs, worried about her daughter's sudden mood shift.

She waited a little while before heading up to Faith's room with a snack, a drink, and her bedtime pills. Faith was sitting on her bed staring at her phone. "Everything alright honey?" Prue asked as she set the plate and cup onto her desk.

Faith looked up at Prue with a confused look. "Yeah. Why wouldn't be?"

"You just seem like something's bothering you. Ever since you mentioned this Angel person."

"He's just a friend," Faith said and looked back down at her phone.

"He?"

"Yeah, he."

"Well the way you're acting makes me think he's more than just a friend," Prue said. She pulled Faith's desk chair out and rolled it in front of Faith, then sat down. "Hey. I'm here for you. You can talk to me about anything, even if you think I won't like it."

Faith looked up and gauged to see if she was being honest. She seemed like she wasn't lying, so she decided to take a chance and talk to her. "It's complicated."

"Well in this family, complicated is normal," Prue smirked.

Faith smiled lightly and then looked back to her phone. "Angel saved my life. He… He refused to give up on me. He believed in me. Believed that I wasn't all bad, and could be redeemed if I just tried. He was the reason I went to the cops and got the help I needed. He came to visit me while I was in Atty. I called him almost every night while I was there. I told him everything and he help me through the worst of it."

"He seems like a good friend," Prue said.

"He's the only real friend I got."

"Then, what's the problem honey?"

Faith shrugged her shoulders. "He probably thinks I escaped."

"But you didn't. I'm sure he will understand once you explain what happened," Prue insisted.

"Yeah, maybe," she sighed.

Prue squeezed Faith's thigh and then stood up. "I brought your pills and a snack. Eat up, then try and get some sleep." She dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. "I love you," she said softly, then left, closing the door behind her.

Faith tossed her phone onto the bed and sat in her vacant desk chair. Prue had brought her a large piece of apple pie and a tall glass of milk. She smiled at it, because it seemed like such a mom thing to do.

She downed her pills along with half the milk. As she ate the piece of pie she attempted to make the lamp on her desk come to life, but all she managed to do was make the light flicker a little.

Her pills kicked in a little while later, forcing her to lay down. She plugged her phone in so it could charge while she slept and then stared out the window again. The owl was out there again, staring in at her. She felt uncomfortable by it, but her meds were making her body feel like lead, so she couldn't get up to close the curtains.

That night she dreamt that everything in the house began dancing and singing, just like in the movie The Beauty and the Beast she'd watch with her dad and sister growing up.

The next morning she was woken by a loud banging on her door. She sat up in her bed groggily and looked around her room in confusion. Everything in her room was in a different spot than it was when she went to sleep. Her bed was now in front of the door, right next to where the loud banging was coming from. Her desk was in front of the window. Her wardrobe was sitting in the middle of her room, and her nightstand had somehow managed to get on top of the wardrobe.

"Uh oh," Faith said, as she realized what had happened. She blinked into the hallway behind her mother, who jumped with a scream with Faith said, "Hey."

Prue turned to glare at Faith. "Hey yourself," she said. "Want to explain why every piece of furniture in the house are in random spots now?"

Faith shrugged, "I may have been dreaming about them coming to life."

"You may have?"

"What it's not my fault."

Prue shook her head at her, then chuckled lightly. "You know, your aunts and I never accidentally used our powers in our sleep. Well Phoebe has, but she has no control over her premonitions. Come on, Piper and Phoebe are already moving everything back into their places. You can help them while I go to work."

"Do I have to," Faith groaned.

"Yes. Rule number two is always clean up any magical messes you make right away. Bad things can happen if you don't."

"What's rule number one?" Faith asked.

"Never use your magic for personal gain," Prue said.

"Well that sounds like a crappy rule," Faith grumbled. "That's like saying I'm not allowed to use my powers to save my life, because saving my life is technically personal gain."

Prue opened her mouth to argue but closed it just as quickly. She had a point, there. So she elaborated on what she meant, "Just don't use your powers in a way that would negatively affect someone else life, while bettering your own. Understand?"

"Oh… Yeah… That makes sense. Can I eat first. I'm starving," Faith said.

Prue chuckled, "When aren't you." Faith had been home for three days and she swore all the girl did was eat. Not that she minded. Faith was still looking unhealthily thin. "Come on. I'm sure your aunt will love to make you something."

"Awesome."

Faith spent the day alone with Piper, since Phoebe had school and Prue had back to back photo shoots. At first Piper seemed a little weary of her. Always looking up or over at her, sizing her up, or maybe just watching to see if she was going to attack. Faith wasn't sure if Piper knew about her past, but she was leaning towards yes, simply because Prue, Phoebe, and Piper seemed like the kind of sisters who didn't keep secrets from each other.

They spent most of the morning putting the furniture back into their proper places, which Faith moved along a little bit by practicing (with Piper's guidance) her new power on their original.

While Piper cooked a hearty lunch for them, Faith blinked back into her bedroom and moved all her furniture back where they belong. Then, she grabbed her phone, which was miraculously still sitting on her nightstand, although she had no clue how. She sat for a few minutes on her bed contemplating calling Angel again, until she heard Piper calling her for lunch.

After lunch Piper took Faith with her to the club so she could get things set up for the night, where she sat at the bar sipping a coke and checking out her laptop. Piper kept her cup filled up and made sure there were snacks within reach.

Prue and Phoebe showed up around five to take her home. "I went by the school today and they've referred me to an online school. I'll give them a call tomorrow," Prue explained on their way home. "They did give me a list of everything I would need for the school. I have just about everything, except your school records. So I need the name of your old school."

"British International School of Boston," Faith answered. Phoebe turned around to look at her questioningly. She shrugged her shoulders, "Diana was a Brit. She enrolled me there when she took me in. I was only there a couple of months before she died, and I split."

Prue bought pizza and wings since Piper wasn't home to cook for them. After they finished eating, Faith sat down with a book and silently read while her mom searched through the book for a way to find a supernatural therapist, that way Faith could be completely candid during her sessions.

Faith's mind wandered from the book she was attempting to read to the phone in her pocket. She still had not been able to bring herself to call Angel again, despite the fact that she knew her mother was right. He was probably worried sick about where she was and would surely be happy to hear from her.

She dropped the book to the floor and pulled out her phone. She opened it to the keypad and typed the number she now knew by heart, then pressed send before she could wimp out. The phone rang three times before Cordelia's cheery voice came through the line. Why did she always have to be the one who answered?

"Hello?" Cordelia said, then repeated herself when Faith didn't answer. "Ugh! Goodbye."

"Wait," Faith said suddenly before Cordy could disconnect the call, startling Prue at the same time. "Wait."

"You," Cordelia growled, then Faith heard her yelling for Angel. Faith heart started pounding wildly in her chest. A few moments later she could practically hear Cordy throw the phone into Angel's hand as she said, "It's the bitch slayer."

"Faith? Is that really you?" Angel asked, and her heart stopped beating for a moment, before it resumed its erratic thumping.

"Yeah. It's me," she grunted.

"Thank god. Faith are you alright? Where are you? Give me your address and I'll come get you," he fired off rapidly, not pausing long enough for her to respond.

"Whoa," she said. "Look I don't need you to come get me. I'm safe. I just wanted to let you know that."

"Where have you been? I called and they said you'd been released. That was three months ago."

"I've… I… I don't want to talk about it," Faith sighed.

"It was them, wasn't it. The Council. They got you out."

"Yeah," she said softly.

"But you're okay now? You're somewhere safe?" He asked, his worry was bleeding heavily nto his voice.

"Yeah. I'm good now." She looked up at Prue who was pretending not to be paying any attention to her and her phone call. She smiled and then said, "I'm better than good now."

Prue couldn't hide the smile that graced her lips.

"Honestly, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," she said, and shook her head light. She was still trying to wrap her head around it all.

"Try me," he insisted.

She smiled again and then said, "I'm in San Fran, with my family."

"But you said…"

"I know what I told you," she interrupted. "It turns out I was adopted. I'm living with my bio-mom now."

"And… Are you doing okay? Is she nice?"

"Yeah. She's great."

Prue looked up at Faith with a smile. "Invite him up," she said softly.

Faith covered the bottom of the phone to muffle her voice. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Faith looked unsure about it but uncovered the phone and invited him over. He quickly agreed and they made plans for the next day. She talked with him for a while, he explained what was going on his end, and she told him a little about her family, leaving out the part that they, and she, were witches.

After Faith hung up with Angel, she went over the sit on the couch with Prue to get a good look at the book. Prue showed her some of the spells they'd used in the past and told her stories about some of the more memorable demons they'd faced.

Faith enjoyed looking through the book, a little more than she was willing to admit. She was still struggling with the idea that she had a home, and a mother who loved her. No, a family that loved her. To her, there was still the fear that one day it will all be gone. That one day, Prue will realize that she wasn't worth the trouble, and send her back.

The book fascinated Faith. Actually, the entire idea of being a witch fascinated her. The power that she had, and the potential for what she could do was amazing and terrifying at the same time. She wanted to relish in the power she felt, but was worried that the power would consume her like it had before.

After finding a dozen spells that she wanted to try, Faith decided to head to bed, that way she couldn't be tempted to give in to the call to perform some of those spells.

Prue sensed something was wrong with Faith when she suddenly stood up and declared she was going to bed. Although she wanted to ask if she was alright, but refrained from doing so. Instead she smiled and offered to get her a drink and snack to go with her pills. Faith brushed her off, and headed to the kitchen to get the pills herself.

The next morning went pretty much the same. Faith was awoken by her mother banging on her door, which was being blocked by her bed once again. She blinked into the hallway to find that it wasn't her mother at her door, but her Aunt Phoebe. Much like she had the morning before, she startled Phoebe, who turned and smiled glared at her.

"We need to put a bell on you. It's not nice to blink up on someone."

"Sorry. My bed is blocking the door," Faith groaned.

"Next time just yell that before you blink," Phoebe instructed. "Prue left already and I have to head to class. Piper ran to the store. Will you be okay alone for a couple hours?"

"Yeah. I'll be seventeen soon," she rolled her eyes. "I was on my own for most of my childhood. I won't got off the rails if left alone for a few hours."

Phoebe sighed, "I guess we're just being overly cautious."

"Ya think?"

Phoebe shook her head. "No magic while Piper's gone unless a demon attacks, and if one does, call Leo."

"Yeah, no one's explained how that works," Faith said.

Phoebe smiled, "You should ask Leo. I'm sure he'll be happy to explain it to you."

Faith suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Um… Yeah… Maybe..."

Phoebe noticed the sudden shift in Faith and wondered what it was about. Then she remembered the premonition she had of Faith's time with her fake uncles. She made a mental note to talk to Prue about it. "Well, he'll come if you call. Hopefully. If not the book is in the attic and you know where the weapons are. Worst comes to worst, get out of the house and call one of us and we'll come running."

"Phoebe, I'm a vampire slayer," Faith reminded her with an eye roll. "I can take care of a demon myself."

"Alright. Alright. I'll go."

Phoebe left and Faith blinked back into her room to get her phone. She contemplated magically moving everything back to where it belonged, but Phoebe had said not to do magic. So she moved everything back to where it belonged manually. Thankfully her strength was almost fully back to the way it was. She was feeling stronger and stronger each day.

This was the first time since she came home that she had been left alone for longer than a few minutes. It was nice to be able to breath a little, yet weird. Despite the Halliwell's being so open and inviting with her, this was still a strange house to her. She didn't feel quite like a foster kid, but she also didn't quite feel like family. Prue was great, so were Piper and Phoebe, and she did feel a connection with them. There was still room for their relationships to grow.

She was happy that she had them however. She had family now, and for the first time in a very long time she could imagine a future for herself. One filled with her mom and aunts and maybe so cousins down the road. She thought back to when she had met Buffy. Buffy had everything she wanted. A mother, a father figure, and friends. She often imagined what it would be like to have all those things. Sure she still was a little lacking in the friends department. Angel was great, but there was the issue of space between them. And while she didn't have a father figure, she had better. Two aunts to fill her life with. It was pretty amazing. Nothing like she imagined it would be like. No, it was better than she could have ever dreamed.

Faith went downstairs to find a note from Piper, pointing her to the plate of pancakes she left for her in the microwave. She smiled at the note and went over to retrieve her breakfast. She definitely was loving having a cook for an aunt.

After she finished her food, she headed up to the attic to find the book. She wanted to see how many of the demons she had face was in the book. She found quite a few of the more notable ones and a few that Buffy had told her about

That's where Piper found her a few hours later.


End file.
